August 31, 2020.

Science Monday. Airships, then and now.

Alberto Santos-Dumont’s dirigible crashes into the Hotel Trocadero, Paris. 1901

In a desire to promote the development of the internal combustion engine to ensure a steady demand for his products, Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, the “Oil King of Europe,” sponsored prizes to encourage the development of automobiles and aircraft.

In 1901, Meurthe offe…