death_place death_date birth_place nationality birth_date known_for license_date article_title name
feldberg , germany 01 july 1957 oelde , germany germany 20 november 1868 pioneer aviator 31 december 1909 august euler
 august euler
august euler

august euler -lrb- 20 november 1868 -- 1 july 1957 -rrb- was a pioneer german aviator , aircraft constructor and the holder of the first germany pilots license , issued in 1909 .
after the first world war , he became german secretary of state for air , until he retired in 1922 .
euler was born at oelde in westphalia and was educated at oelde and at public schools in cologne and aachen and from 1885 started a career in engineering .
he worked for seidel & neumann , originally a sewing machine company , which later made cycles and motor cars .
euler took up cycle racing and then motor racing and became interested in aviation .
in 1908 he started a company to build voisin aircraft under licence .
in february of 1908 august euler erected a building on the site of the griesheim airport , which he relocated from mainz castle , costing him 2,400 marks .
in that building he began aircraft production .
in 1910 he set a german flying duration record by staying airborne for 3hr 6min .
18sec on 31 december 1909 he obtained german pilot 's brevet no. 1 and started a flying school .
before the first world war he moved his factory to frankfurt and helped set up a german aircraft manufacturers association .
after the war he was appointed secretary of state for air with an instructions to create a ministry for transportation , but with the restrictions of the versailles treaty they had little to do , and when the treaty was ratified in 1920 euler resigned .
euler built a house in the black forest on the feldberg mountain where he lived in retirement until his death in 1957 .
although his services were requested by the nazi government during the second world war he resisted due to his age and remained retired .
he was associated with many of the country 's motoring and aviation associations and received many honorary distinctions for his early work .
