Clément Ader
A French visionary who built a bat-winged steam machine and coaxed it into a brief, secret hop, foreshadowing the age of flight.
1841–1926 (age 85)·French inventor and engineer·Birthday: April 2
Biography
Clément Ader built a steam-powered aircraft, Éole, that lifted briefly from the ground in 1890—a moment many historians consider the first manned, powered takeoff in history. Born in rural southern France, he studied the anatomy of bats to inform his designs. An electrical engineer by trade, he also helped popularize the bicycle craze. The French military eventually dismissed his later, larger designs. Undeterred, Ader detailed his work in writings and patents that provided crucial technical insight for aviation pioneers. He died in 1926, a foundational figure whose early experiments proved that powered flight was possible.
#1 When Clément Was Born
The biggest hits of 1841
Clément's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1841Born
1846Started school
1854Became a teenager
1857Could drive
1859Could vote
1862Turned 21
President: Abraham Lincoln
1871Turned 30
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1881Turned 40
President: Chester A. Arthur
1891Turned 50
President: Benjamin Harrison
1901Turned 60
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Turned 70
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1921Turned 80
First commercial radio broadcasts
President: Warren G. Harding"My Man" — Fanny Brice
1926Died at 85
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
Key Achievements
- Designed and built the Éole, a steam-powered, bat-winged aircraft that achieved a brief, manned takeoff in 1890.
- Authored the detailed and prescient book 'L'Aviation Militaire' in 1909, outlining the future of air power.
- Held a pivotal French patent for an 'appareil ailé' (winged apparatus) for aerial locomotion.
- Was an early pioneer in France for the development and popularization of the velocipede, an early bicycle.
Did You Know?
He initially worked for the French railway company Compagnie des chemins de fer du Midi.
His first aircraft was named after Aeolus, the keeper of the winds in Greek mythology.
The French army classified his later aviation work as a military secret for years.
He also invented an early version of a theater sound system for the Paris Opera.
“The conquest of the air will be the greatest conquest of man, because it will give him the mastery of the world.”
