Fokker, Anthony Herman Gerard

Fokker, Anthony Herman Gerard (1890-1939), Dutch-American aircraft designer and manufacturer, born in Kediri, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and educated in Haarlem, the Netherlands. A pioneer in the construction of aircraft, Fokker built his first factory in Germany, where he manufactured pursuit planes during World War I. After the war Fokker established factories in the United States, and he subsequently became an American citizen. He had great influence on developments in aeroplane construction, particularly in the use of welded-steel tubing in fuselage construction. His autobiography is entitled The Flying Dutchman (1931).