Jacques-André Istel

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Jacques-André Istel (born 1930 in France) is a French-American recreational parachutist and investment banker[1] widely responsible for popularizing parachuting in the United States. He is sometimes called "the father of American skydiving."[2]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Istel was born in France to Yvonne Istel, a prominent volunteer in both World War I and World War II,[3] and André Istel, an investment banker. He and his family fled France in 1940 to avoid the German invasion.[4] He later studied economics at Princeton University, graduating in 1949,[5] and served in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War.[6]

[edit] Parachuting

Istel first tried parachuting in 1950, and quickly became an expert. He soon started popularizing parachuting in America by touring college campuses and leading the American team he organized[7] to the World Championship of Parachuting in 1956.[8][9] In 1958, he captained the U.S. team that won the French Coupe du Monde, together with Lew Sanborn, Dana Smith, and Charlie Hillard.[10] He insisted on safety while parachuting,[11] discussing safety regulations with the Civil Aeronautics Administration and pioneering the Telsan technique with Sanborn. He also co-founded Parachutes, Inc. with Sanborn,[12] a company that designed parachutes and opened the first parachuting school in America. He was awarded the Leo Stevens Award for parachuting in 1958, and, decades later, the award is given by a museum in the town he founded.[13] He made his last jump in 1972 and sold Parachutes, Inc. in the mid-1980s.[5]

[edit] Felicity, California

In 1985, Istel wrote a children's book entitled Coe, the Good Dragon at the Center of the World, and a year later founded the town of Felicity, California, named after his wife, Felicia.[4] The town has a plaque inside of a pyramid on which the story claims the center of the world is located. The town also has various other structures, including numerous granite monuments on which important names and events are engraved,[14] as well as about 30 people.[5] In 1985, Imperial County, California recognized the site as the center of the world, as did the French government in 1989.[15] He is currently the mayor of Felicity.[16] He also gained two write-in votes in the 2003 California election as a Republican.[17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ CLUI Newsletter
  2. ^ Sports Innovator William H. Ottley Dies
  3. ^ New York Times Obituary
  4. ^ a b Bartletti, Don. "Desert monument captures history on stone." Los Angeles Times. April 16, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Princeton Class Notes
  6. ^ Wilcox, Len. Desert Dancing: Exploring the Land, the People, the Legends of the California Desert. New Jersey: Hunter Publishing, 2000.
  7. ^ Emerson, Gloria. "Take the Plunge..."
  8. ^ Time Magazine - The Case for the Parachute
  9. ^ United States Parachute Association
  10. ^ Lew Sanborn Biography
  11. ^ Time Magazine - Jumping for Joy
  12. ^ Taylor, Robert Lewis. "NO FEELING OF FALLING." The New Yorker. January 24, 1959: 42.
  13. ^ History of the Leo Stevens Award
  14. ^ Official Felicity Website
  15. ^ Moran, Mark et al. "Weird California." Sterling, 2006
  16. ^ Official Center of the World
  17. ^ Official Declaration of the Result of the Statewide Special Election held on Tuesday, October 7, 2003, throughout the State of California on Statewide Measures Submitted to a Vote of Electors