David Schwarz (aviation inventor)

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David Schwarz.

David Schwarz (1852 – 1897) a Croatian aviation pioneer of Jewish ancestry. Commissioned by the German army, he had constructed the first dirigible airship in 1896, which was tested with partial success at Templehof near Berlin, Germany, on November 3, 1897. The propeller belts broke, causing the pilot to lose control and crash the airship. Schwarz died shortly afterwards, before further testing was conducted, supposedly as a result of a heart attack which is attributed to the excitement of receiving a telegram from the German government informing him that his invention has been accepted. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a witness to the first flight, purchased the plans from his widow in 1898. Zeppelin went on to develop a successful line of dirigible airships which bore his name.