He was born in Minas Gerais during The Empire of Brazil in July 20, 1873, inside a coffee plantation, where since a child he began to show interest in mechanics and science, being higly inspired by science fiction and the works of Jules Verne.
When he was 18, and after his father had became paralysed
due a horse accident, he received his inheritance of about 1890s $500,000 and his father said: "I still have a few years to live, I want to see how you conduct yourself: go to Paris, the most dangerous place for a boy, let's see if you become a man; I prefer you not to become a doctor; the future of the world is in mechanics. You do not have to work; I will leave you the necessities to live."
He went to study in France, experimented motor-racing and in 1897, inspired by a book about the Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition, he flew for the first time in a balloon, what inspired him to became an inventor.
Starting right in 1898, he flew with the small espherical "Brésil" and soon after started to develop his airships. He started a succession of airships, which in 1901, with the Nº6, he won the Deutsch Prize after circling the Eiffel Tower, becoming one of the most famours people in the early 20th century and did some experimental flights in Monaco in 1902 due the support of Albert I and the Nº9 "Baladeuse" in 1903, his most successfull air-ship and the first piloted by a woman, the American Aida de Acosta.
In 1904 he began tracling the heavier-than-air subject in the open source atmosphere of Europe. He first thought about developing an helicopter, but after seeing that this was a dead end at time, he began developing his arplane. He first studied the designs of Sir. George Cayley, but in the end settled upon the box-kite desing by Lawrence Hargrave in what the French started to call the "Oiseau de Proie", or the 14-bis.
He first started to test his new arcraft in 1906 by strapping it in the Nº14 art-ship (so, that's why it is the "bis") and then by strapping it by a zip-line. In September 13 he did a non official flight (since it was necessary for the representatives of the French Aeroclube to watch the tests), but in the 30th he stopped his tests and went for a non-sucessfull run in the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett.
In October 23, 1906, he did his first test with the French Aeroclube was witness and took the world by storm. This flight was regarded at time was the invention of the airplane and the reason why Santos Dumont is still regarded in his home country as the "Father of Aviation" and a National Hero.
In November he did other flights, always improving his design, but in 1907 his arcraft fell and was destroyed. He started to develop new inventions, finally reaching the Demoiselle: considered the first successfull ultra-light, it was produced at hundreds in Europe. Santos Dumont had always released his designs in public domain and never wanted to receive any royalities from his inventions, since he regarded the flight as something for the entire humankind. As an example, the Popular Mechanics magazine published the designs of the Demoiselle: Part 1 and 2.
After a serious accident in 1910, he retired from aeronautics. His physical and mental health began to worsening, specially during the World War I. He developed Depression, Anxiety and possibly bipolarity, since he blamed himself for all the deaths the airplane was causing, despise agreeing with the military use only in self-defense. During the 1910s and 1920s he returned to Brazil, build his home and traveled the world inspiring the development of aviation.
In 1932, during the Paulista War, he saw the airplane being used in his homecountry against its own people. For a friend, he said: "Oh my God! My God! Is there no way to avoid the bloodshed of brothers? Why did I make this invention that, instead of contributing to the love between men, becomes a cursed weapon of war? I am horrified by these airplanes that are constantly hovering over Santos." He was Driven to Suicide. Since "Suicide is Shameful", it was announced that he had suffered a heart attack (as it is in his death certificate) and the real cause was only public known in 1944. His heart was removed and it is still preserved in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2006, Marcos Pontes became the first Brazilian in space in a flight making a tribute to the 100 years since the flight on the 14-Bis.
Works by Santos Dumont
Santos Dumont has been seen in the following works:
- Santos Dumont Explaining His Air Ship to the Hon. C.S. Rolls: a 1901 short with Santos Dumont and C.S. Rolls
- 14-Bis: a 2006 short film directed by André Ristum
- Santos Dumont: a 2006 film directed by Adolfo Rosenthal
- De gevleugelde: a 2015 historical fiction by Arthur Japin.
- Santos Dumont: a non-fiction 2019 HBO mini-series.
