De Havilland, Sir Geoffrey (1882-1965), was a noted British aircraft designer and manufacturer. He built his first airplane in 1908—five years after the Wright brothers’ first successful flight in the United States. During World War I (1914-1918), de Havilland designed several successful types of fighter and bomber aircraft, such as the DH4. In 1920, he formed his own aircraft company, which later produced such famous airplanes as the Moth biplane; the Dragon Rapide light airliner; the Mosquito fighter bomber; and the Comet, the world’s first jet airliner.
De Havilland was born on July 27, 1882, near Colchester, in Essex. He was knighted in 1944. He died Sept. 27, 1965, of a cerebral hemorrhage. Of his three sons, two were killed while piloting de Havilland aircraft.
