1870: An Aviation Trailblazer Makes His World Debut in France

April 2, 1870

Henry de La Vaulx, a balloonist and overall proponent of human aviation, was born in the commune of Bierville in northern France. His airborne accomplishments included setting a long-distance flight record in 1900 when he and a companion traveled approximately 1,200 miles (1,931.2 kilometers) in just under 36 hours in a balloon from the French commune of Vincennes to the town (present-day city) of Korostyshiv in what was then the Russian Empire and is now part of Ukraine  De La Vaulx’s various exploits in the air eventually led the New York Times to call him one of the “most successful and daring balloonists in the world.” 

One of de La Vaulx’s more significant earthbound achievements with respect to aviation took place in 1898 when he became a co-founder of the Aero Club of France, the oldest organization of its kind in the world and one that still exists to support aerial activities. Other co-founders of this organization included Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873-1932), who created and flew the first practical dirigible; and author Jules Verne, who achieved enduring literary fame thanks to science-fiction works such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days. 

De La Vaulx also helped establish the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which continues to serve as the world’s governing body for flight-based records ranging from balloons to spacecraft. The De la Vaulx Medal named after him is awarded annually by FAI to holders of new records. 

In addition, de La Vaulx built airships for the French company known as Mallet, Mélandin et de Pitray and ultimately renamed Zodiac Aerospace. (This company existed from 1896 to 2018.) De La Vaulx found time as well to write at least a dozen books, most of which dealt with aviation.

De La Vaulx’s life came to a tragic end on April 10, 1930. While traveling on board a monoplane in the skies above New Jersey that day, he was killed when the aircraft collided with power lines near Jersey City. He was 60 years old.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

Additional information on Henry de La Vaulx is available at  https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Henry_de_la_Vaulx

For more information on the De La Vaulx Medal, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_la_Vaulx_Medal