Louis Bleriot Crosses the English Channel

On July 25, 1909, the French aviator and engineer Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly an aircraft across the English Channel. Taking off near Calais in the early morning, he flew his Bleriot XI, a small monoplane of his own design, across the open water to England, where he came down near Dover Castle. The crossing took roughly half an hour.

Bleriot flew without a compass and was briefly pushed off course by the wind, navigating in part by the sight of ships heading toward England. By winning the race to cross the Channel by air, he claimed the 1,000-pound prize offered by London's Daily Mail and instantly became one of the most famous men in Europe.

The flight had consequences far beyond the prize money. It proved the monoplane configuration practical, made Bleriot's company a leading aircraft manufacturer, and demonstrated that the natural defensive barrier of the Channel could now be crossed from the air. Commentators recognized at once that Britain's island isolation was no longer absolute, a strategic point that would loom large in the world wars to come.