 | |
23.5.1848
| Born in Anklam |
| 1856
- 1864 | Grammar school in Anklam;
His subjects included the study of birds and his mathematics teacher
was Gustav Spörer (an important German astronomer) |
| 1864
- 1866 | Regional Technical School in
Potsdam |
|
1866/1867 | Practical
training at the Schwartzkopf Company in Berlin (mechanical engineering) |
| 1867 - 1870 | Royal
Technical Academy in Berlin |
| from 1867 |
First experiments, the results of which can be found in his book (published 1889) about the physical
basics of human flight |
| 1870/71
| Voluntary one year military service as a
fusilier in the Franco-Prussian War during the siege of Paris |
| 1871 | Employment
with the Weber Company (mechanical engineering firm), Berlin |
| from 1872 | Construction
engineer at the C. Hoppe Machine Factory , Berlin |
| 1873
| The Lilienthal brothers became members of the
Aeronautical Society of Great Britain. Lilienthal gives his first
public lecture about the theory of the flight of birds. |
| from
1874 | Systematic
experiments on the force of air on artificial wings with
models and kites and on the characteristics of natural wind |
| 1877
| Patent on a machine
used in mining - the first of 23
patents by Lilienthal (among these were 4
aviation patents) |
| 11. 6. 1878 |
Marriage to Agnes Fischer, daughter of a miner |
| 1879
| Birth of their son Otto (the first of four
children)
Invention of what was later known as the
"Anker-Steinbaukasten" (stone building blocks for children) together
with Gustav Lilienthal |
| 1883 |
His own mechanical
engineering company for boilers and steam engines in Berlin |
| 1886 | Membership
in the "Deutscher Verein zur Förderung der Luftschiffahrt"
(German Association for Promotion of Airship Navigation) in Berlin |
| 1889 | Publication
of the book "Birdflight as the basis of
aviation" (English translation 1911) |
| 1890
| Lilienthal introduces a 25% profit sharing scheme for the workers
in his company. First experiments with manned flying machines |
| 1891 | Jumps
and first flights of a distance of
about 80 feet in Derwitz/Krilow near Potsdam |
| 1892
| Improved
Flights with a new glider. Active interest in the Berlin
'Volkstheater' (people's theatre) |
| 1893
| Construction of a flight station near his home.
Commencement of his practice flights in the Rhinower Hills
(Stölln/Rhinow near Neustadt/Dosse). Gliding up to a distance
of about 800 feet.
Construction
of several flying machines, among these a flapping wing machine driven by a motor.
Construction of his so-called 'Fliegeberg' (flight hill)
which still exists in Lichterfelde, Berlin |
| 1894
| Serial production of the so-called "normal-glider" |
| 1895
| Visits by flight technicians from different
countries, among these S. P. Langley, secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington and N. J. Shukowski, aerodynamics expert from
Moscow. |
| 1896 | New experiments in the area of
wing stroke |
|
9.8.1896 | Crash
after an unsuccessful attempt to steer a "Normal glider" through a heat
eddy |
|
10.8.1896 | Death
in Berlin |
Biography
