Alberto Santos-Dumont

Alberto Santos-Dumont (July 20, 1873 - July 23, 1932) was an important early pioneer of aviation. Although he was born, grew up, and died in Brazil, his contributions to aviation were made while he was living in France.

Santos-Dumont and the wristwatch

The wrist watch had already been invented by Patek Philippe, decades earlier, but Santos-Dumont played a important role popularizing its use by men in the early 1900s. Before him they were generally worn only by women, as men favored pocket watches. As a result, Brazilians consider Santos-Dumont the inventor of the Wristwatch.

Related Topics:
Patek Philippe - Pocket watch - Brazilians - Inventor - Wristwatch

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The story goes that in 1904, while celebrating his winning of the Deutsch Prize at Maxim's Restaurant, Alberto complained to his friend Louis Cartier about the difficulty of checking his pocket watch to time his performance during flight. Alberto then asked Cartier to come up with an alternative that would allow him to keep both hands on the controls. Cartier went to work on the problem and the result was a watch with a leather band and a small buckle, to be worn on the wrist.

Related Topics:
1904 - Deutsch Prize - Maxim's Restaurant - Louis Cartier

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Santos-Dumont never took off again without his personal Cartier wristwatch, and he used it to check his personal record for a 220 m (722 ft) flight, achieved in twenty-one seconds, on November 12, 1907. The Santos-Dumont watch was officially displayed on October 20, 1979 at the Paris Air Museum next to the 1908 Demoiselle, the last aircraft that he built.

Related Topics:
November 12 - 1907 - October 20 - 1979 - Paris Air Museum - 1908 - Demoiselle

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As of today, Cartier has a collection of wristwatches honouring Santos-Dumont called Santos de Cartier. Some publicity even involved photographies of Santos-Dumont and his achievements.

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