Deutsche Verein zur Förderung der Luftschiffahrt
The Deutsche Verein zur Förderung der Luftschiffahrt (DVFL) or German Association for the Promotion of Aeronautics was founded in Berlin in August 1881. The general purpose of the association was air navigation. Its first goal, the production of a dirigible airship in Germany, soon changed into the clarification of many aeronautical issues and an emphasis on military aviation. After the formation of the Prussian troops, its interest became more meteorological and sporting. Scientific balloon ascents began in 1891. It published the Zeitschrift für Luftschiffahrt from 1882-1900, when the Illustrierte Aeronautischen Mitteilungen was adopted as the official journal of the Verein. (The latter appears to have been published through 1911.) On 23 Feb. 1903, aware of the founding of numerous other clubs for aerial navigation, it changed its name to Berliner Verein fur Lutschiffahrt, which see.
The association was founded by Dr. Wilhelm Angerstein, J. E. Boszus, and Maximilian Wolff, who conceived of it while meeting at the restaurant Kuhlman in Berlin on 31 Aug. 1881. The idea became definite at its first ordinary meeting on 8 Sept. 1881 attended by a group of 17; at that time, Angerstein was elected chairman; Bozus, deputy chairman; Wolff, secretary; F. Giles, editor; and F. Gericke, treasurer.
The search for a dirigible balloon appeared at that time to be as likely to be successful as had been the efforts to discover a perpetual motion. It therefore required no little courage to appear before the public as the founder of a Balloon Club, with all its hopes and aspirations. Far-seeing men, like Moltke, looked forward to the future with confidence and prophecied great things for ballooning. On the other hand, a well-known scientific man stated in a lecture about that time that the idea of dirigible ballooning was an "unfortunate form of lunacy," and the organ of the club was spoken of as a "curiosity."[1]
Meteorologist Richard Aßmann became president in 1890 and attracted attention and funding from the Kaiser.[1]
The president in 1903 appears to have been Professor Busley. At that time there were 600 members.
Cailliez, 2004, p. 198 lists 1882 as the founding date. However, our other and more contemporaneous sources list 1881 as the founding year. Need to go back to Google books for indications of a Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Luftschifffahrt, Berlin, in 1883. Was this the association founded 1881 or a business founded 1883?
Sources
- 4 Zeitschrift des Deutschen Vereins zur Forderung der Luftschiffahrt 1 (1885); Braunbeck's Sport-Lexicon: Luftschiffahrt 26, 43, 123-124; WorldCat.org and WorldCat-OCLC.
- Hildebrandt, 1907, Die Luftschiffahrt, pp. 223–224.
- Find: H.W.L. Moedebeck, "Twenty-five Years in the History of the Berlin Balloon Club"; Strassburg: K. J. Trübner, 1906.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hildebrandt, 1908, Airships Past and Present, p. 197–198.
| Organization names | Deutsche Verein zur Förderung der Luftschiffahrt (DVFL); German Association for the Promotion of Aeronautics; German Club for the Promotion of Ballooning |
|---|---|
| Entity type | |
| Country | Germany |
| City | Berlin |
| Affiliated with | |
| Scope | |
| Started aero | 1881 |
| Ended aero | 1903, name changed to Berliner Verein fur Lutschiffahrt, which see |
| Keywords | |
| Key people | Wilhelm Angerstein, Arnold Böcklin, Richard Aßmann |
| Wikidata id |
