Jules Henri Giffard, French Engineer

Jules Henri Giffard (1825-1882) was a Frenchman who made his fortune by inventing the steam injector (a device to prevent steam engine boilers running out of water while they were stationary, patented in 1858), but before that in 1852, he built the world's first passenger airship. The first airships were know as dirigible balloons from the French dirigeable, meaning steerable'. Later they were simply refered to as dirigibles'.In 1850 Giffard helped fellow French engineer Jullien to build an airship with a propeller driven by clockwork, but it was to be Giffard's knowlege of steam power that would place his own airship in the history books and in 1851 he patented the application of steam in the airship travel'. His is one of the 72 names of scientists inscribed on the Eiffel Tower

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10801739

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47600137

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3240px x 4148px (10.6MB)

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©Photo Researchers / Mary Evans Picture Library

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Photo Researchers