February 2: French navy-engineer Dupuy de Lome gets his elbow-grease powered airship up to a top speed of 11 km/h.

July 1: Louis Blériot, the pioneer aviator who made the world’s first airplane flight across the English Channel, is born in Cambrai, France. After experimenting first with gliders, he designed and built his own monoplane with a 25-hp engine, which took him across the channel.