Léon Delagrange

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Léon Delagrange (1873 - January 4, 1910) was a French aviator; also a sculptor. He was born at Orléans and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. As a sculptor, he is known for several notable works, especially "Florentine Page", "A Templar", "Love and Youth", "A Huguenot", and "Girl Dancers." In September, 1908, a year after his first flight in an aëroplane, he established a record of 15.2 miles in 29 minutes, 53 seconds, and in 1909 he received the Lagatiner prize at Juvisy (3.6 miles in 10 minutes, 18 seconds), made a sensational flight in a storm at Doncaster, England, on October 17 established a world record (6 miles in 7 minutes, 36 seconds), and in December made a new monoplane record. In 1910 he was killed in an accident^[1] with his monoplane at Croix d'Hins near to Bordeaux. He was president of the Aéro-Club de France in 1907, and in 1909 was decorated with the order of the Legion of Honor, and in 1910 received a medal from the Paris Academy of Sciences.