The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-03-09
COUNT ZEPPELIN
DEAD IN BERLIN
Made First Balloon Flight
in United States in the
Civil War Days
WON GREAT FAME AS
DIRIGIBLE BUILDER
Devoted Half a Century OF His Life
and Spent His Personal Fortune in
Developing Aircraft That Made Jour
neys of Hundreds of Miles.

LONDON, March Count Zeppelin
Is dead at the age of %, according to
"a despatch from Berlin received by
Reuter- S Telegram company. The end
came yesterday morning at Charlotten-
burg, near Berlin, and resulted from in
Examination of the lungs.
Count Ferdinand Won Zeppelin became
famous at the age of 20 as the builder
of the world s first practical dirigible
balloon. On his 10Th birthday he navi-
gated his goth airship to celebrate the
occasion. But before he had achieved
fame he had devoted half a century OF
ms life, exhausted his personal for
tune OF $4,000 and sacrificed bril-
liant career Is German cavalry lead
En- IN conqucring the air. Emperor
William recently proclaimed him to be
the greatest German Of the 20th cen
fury. As a token OF appreciation he
conferred upon HIM the exalted order
o. the Black Eagle, the highest honor
III the emreror's power. .
1t was iii the United states thai
Count Zeppelin made one Of lis hrst
balloon aSeensions. 1ie was following
Gen. Carl ochutz IN the Ciyi, war as i.
military observer for the German army.
a captive balloon III use Ior mlhtar,
OBSERVATIONS ~ Union troops greatly
interested the young German officer,
and he was taken W IN it in 1868.
lis first ascension, however, did no.
tahc place near the hghtiag Inc Ii,
took pace IN a captive balloon iii St.
i'ah, Mimi, where an officer OF the
United States army was making expcr-
Iments.
Scion Of wealthy family o. ancient
lineage, Count Zeppelin WAS born il.
Constance, Baden ii 1898. As youtl,
he was trained Tor 4 soldier s carreef.
tie fought through the Austro- Prussian
and the iranco-1'russian wars, and is
sad to have been the first German
soldier TO cross the frontier int,
France ~ the last-named conflict.
Serving in the German cavalry for
three decades, lie rose to the rank 81
general at the age OF ~. tie retired
40 years later, distinguished soldier,
TO devote all his time 10 the problem
Of aeronautics.
lie began to study and experiment
sool after arriving in Germany from.
the American Civil war. Except fol
the time demanded in routine militar,
duties, for the time spent in fghtin.
two wars, and for year spent il.
hoheymoonlng with his bride, who was
q GlH OF the German nobility, he spen
the remainder Of his life in building
lying contriyances that, for the most
part, refused to fly.
from wealthy nobIeman owniup
vast estates, Count Zeppelin was grad
uaily reduced to an aristocratie me
chanlc living IN a humble cottage on al
allowance supplied by his friends. lie
had many narrow escapes from death.
and disaster repeatedly overlook his
air ships. These became SO frequent
that pert paragraphs began to appea
| IN the German press in ridicule of his
| efforts.
hen in day the tide turned. He
electrified . skeptioal world in 1908 b,
staying aloft for 81 hours in the fifth
airship lie had built, and by sailIar ii
in straight course for a distance o.
nearly 900 miles. Emperor William, al.
Germany, in fact, hailed him As the
conqueror Of the air.
This monster balloon, 465 feet long
and Of the rigid type and resembling
4 huge cigar, soon met with disaster as
had It's prcdeccss ors. Each wreck was
a great financial loss, for Zeppelin
balloons were valued at high as $500,
600 each. These disasters. however
also proved the affection in which the
German people held the aristocrati,