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Title: Georges Besancon |
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Description: Parliamentary Elections, May 8, 1898, 18th arrondissement of Paris -- Georges Besancon, Engineer Aeronaute. By 1898, when 31 year old Georges Besancon ran for Parliament, he was already well known as a balloonist, writer and engineer. He began his distinguished career in aviation with his first balloon ascents at the age of 20. Four years later, in 1890, Besancon and astronomer Gustave Hermite proposed the first viable plan for flying over the north pole in a balloon. Their plan became the basis for the tragic expedition by the Swedish aeronaut, Salomon Andrée in 1896-97. Besancon became famous in France when he tried to cross the English Channel by balloon in 1892. His party left from Le Havre in "The Jupiter" but fell into the sea due to the bad weather. They spent an entire night floating on the water and were finally rescued the next day by a German sailboat. Georges Besancon made many significant contributions to the science and art of flight. In 1893 he founded and edited l’Aérophile, one of the oldest and most important aviation magazines in France. He also wrote for this and many other journals. He became Secretary General of the Aero Club of France in 1902, and received numerous awards, including the Cross of the Legion of Honor. George Besancon was a significant and active figure during the most exciting period in French aviation. |
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