Paul Cornu was an engineer who was a native of France. He made first successful manned helicopter flight in 1907. Though the flight lasted just 20 seconds it began the development of an aircraft which can take off and land vertically. The helicopter can also hover, fly forward, backward, and laterally.

The idea of vertical flight dates back over 2500 years to the spinning top with which Chinese children played. During the following centuries various attempts were made to develop flying machines based on the toy. Leonardo da Vinci designed a flying machine in the 1480’s.

By the early 1900’s several unmanned flights were made. Manned flights were attempted but the machine was tethered to the ground. Following Cornu’s flight, development of the helicopter continued. In 1942 a helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky went into production in the United States. Cornu failed to get support for his development and devoted his time to manufacturing bicycles. He was killed in 1944 during the Allied World War II landings in Normandy.

The first successful manned helicopter flight in history was made by French engineer Paul Cornu in the year 1907 On This Day.

Photo by Irish Air Corps

AW139 landing in Baldonnel at sundown by Irish Air Corps on 2011-01-17 16:30:41

Captain Patrick Reid whose family were from Carlow, Ireland was one of the few people to escape from Colditz Castle during World War II. Colditz Castle is located in the state of Saxony in Germany. It was used as prisoner-of-war camp by the Nazi’s during the war.

Patrick Robert Reid was born in November 1910 in Ranchi the capital of the state of Jharkhand in north eastern India. His father John Reid was from Grange near Tullow, Co Carlow. He was educated at Clongowes Wood College Co Kildare, Ireland and graduated from King’s College London in 1932. He later trained as a civil engineer.

In 1935 Patrick Reid joined the British Army. He was mobilised for active duty on August 24th 1939. Whilst serving as a member of the British Expeditionary Force he was captured by the Germans on May 27th 1940 near Cassel about 30km south of Dunkirk in France. He was sent as a prisoner of war to Laufen Castle in Bavaria close to the Austrian border. Three months later having dug a tunnel Reid and five other prisoners escaped and tried to reach Yugoslavia. They were captured within days and returned to prison.

In November 1940 they were sent to ‘escape proof’ Colditz Castle, which is located in the town of Colditz, between Leipzig and Dresden. Following several escape attempts Reid and three others escaped from Colditz. Reid crossed the border into Switzerland in October 1942 and remained there for the remainder of the war.

After the war Reid served for a time as a diplomat in Turkey. He was later appointed as an administrator of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (now the OECD) based in Paris. He also became a writer detailing his experiences as a prisoner of war and his escape attempts. Some of his writings about Colditz formed the basis for a film in 1955 and later for a series on television. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1945. Captain Reid died in Bristol in 1990 at the age of 79.

Patrick Reid, whose family were from Carlow, Ireland was one of the few people to escape from Colditz Castle during World War II. He was born in the year 1910 On This Day.

Photo by NH53

Colditz Castle by NH53 on 2014-10-21 11:14:39

Photo by lostajy

Escape tunnel… by lostajy on 2009-08-31 13:27:23

Auguste Rodin was a French Sculptor who became world famous in his lifetime. Oscar Wilde held Rodin’s work in great esteem. A bust which he cast of his friend George Bernard Shaw can be seen in the Musée Rodin in Paris. After the World Fair in Paris in 1900 his work was in great demand by wealthy clients. His sculptures include such famous pieces as The Age of Bronze, The Kiss and The Thinker.

François-Auguste-René Rodin was born Paris in November 1840. He entered a drawing school at the age of 13 but four years later failed to gain entry to École des Beaux-Arts. He worked for a time in the decorative arts. By the mid 1860’s he had completed his first major work, ‘Mask of the Man With the Broken Nose’. During the following years Rodin became a world-renowned artist. He died in Meudon at the age of 77 on November 17^th 1917.

Auguste Rodin, French Sculptor who became world famous in his lifetime, was born in the year 1840 On This Day.

Photo by Arturo Espinosa

Auguste Rodin for PIFAL. by Arturo Espinosa on 2012-07-03 22:42:36

Photo by Japanexperterna.se

The Thinker by Japanexperterna.se on 2015-02-11 14:10:23