Portal:Kent/On this Day/July 25

On this Day - July 25th


 * 1909 - The first person to cross the channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft (the Blériot XI) (Calais to Dover, 37 minutes) was Louis Blériot (France), he was encouraged by £1000 prize being offered by the Daily Mail for first successful flight across the channel


 * 1959 - The first Hovercraft crossing of the English Channel (Calais to Dover, 2 hours 3 minutes), Sir Christopher Cockerell, the designer, was on board the SR-N1