George Cayley

George Cayley (1773-1857), English inventor and pioneer of aviation. Cayley was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire. He is now widely accepted as the inventor of the modern aeroplane, although not in a practical form, and as the founder of the science of aerodynamics. The essential form of the modern aeroplane, a fixed-wing structure driven by a separate engine, first appeared in a design of Cayley’s that was dated 1799. Cayley’s paper “On Aerial Navigation” (1809-1810), written after many experiments, laid the basis on which all subsequent aerodynamics has been built. By 1853 he was building man-carrying gliders. He invented many of the features that were to be incorporated in successful aeroplanes, such as movable control surfaces and a tail unit separate from the main wings, but no engine existed at that time that was powerful enough in relation to its weight to propel one of his aircraft. Cayley also made important contributions to many fields besides aeronautics. He died at Brompton, North Yorkshire.