On March 28, 1910, Henri Fabre made the first successful powered seaplane flight. Traveling over 1,900 feet and wowing a crowd of spectators, he inaugurated the seaplane and flying boat industry that would flourish for the next several decades.
On March 21, 1916, a group of mostly American pilots formed the Escadrille Américaine. Later named the Lafayette Escadrille, they flew several high-profile missions that encouraged more Americans to join their ranks.
Happy Birthday to Alfred “Chief” Anderson. Called the Father of Black Aviation, he was a trailblazer who set many records and trained the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
On December 23, 1986, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager completed the first non-stop flight around the world without refueling.
Scientist and mathematician Dr. Theodore von Kármán was born on May 11, 1881, in Budapest, Austria-Hungary.
On December 12, 1928, the International Civil Aeronautics Conference opened in Washington, DC.
On July 25, 1909, Louis Blériot became the first person to fly across the English Channel. Born in Cambrai, France, on July 1, 1872, Blériot was the first of five children. At the age of 10, he attended the Institute of Notre Dame in Cambrai, where he often won prizes for his engineering drawings.
Aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss died on July 23, 1930, in Buffalo, New York. Glenn Hammond Curtiss was born on May 21, 1878, in Hammondsport, New York. He became interested in bicycles as a young man and was a champion racer, riding bikes he had designed and built.
On June 13, 2002, the USPS issued the final sheet in the Classic Collection Series.