9. “Small Sacrifices” Glider
Inventor: Otto Lilienthal (Germany)
Aptly nicknamed “the Glider King” by some of his peers and fans, inventor Otto Lilienthal if famous for developing and testing numerous gliders and other attempted flying devices. Lilienthal moved to Austria in his early years in order to try out his various glider designs on the Alps. After being interrupted by the Franco-Prussian War, in which he served voluntarily, Lilienthal returned to Austria where he started a business building steam engines and continued his pursuit for the dream of flight.
His last days were spent putting the finishing touches on what would prove to be his final glider design. After taking the plunge from a 17 meter manmade hill, Lilienthal experienced unexpected technical difficulties with his craft and plummeted into the soil. He broke his spine and died in Berlin the following day. Among his last words were, “small sacrifices must be made.”
The Wright Brothers are quoted as regarding Lilienthal’s findings as highly important to the developing field of aviation.