View source for Société d'encouragement pour la locomotion aérienne au moyen d'appareils plus lourds que l'air

The '''Société d'Encouragement pour la Locomotion Aérienne au Moyen d'Appareils plus Lourds que l'Air''' was a French organization promoting [[heavier-than-air]] flight and sharing ideas of how it might be accomplished.

It emerged from the from the [[Société (Provisoire) de Navigation Aérienne]], formed 15 Jan. 1864, and appears to have been constituted at meetings of the Societe Provisoire held between 22 Apr. and 13 May 1864.  The Societe d'Encouragement became extinct by 1869.<ref>28 Journal of the RAeS 644-646 (1924); LOC OPAC</ref>

The Société d'Encouragement adopted at its official journal the ''[[L'Aéronaute]]'', which [[Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (aka Nadar)]] had founded in 1863. That publication appears to have ended in 1867. The directors of the Society d'Encouragement published an annual report, ''Rapport du Counseil D'Administration'', for the years 1864, 1865, and 1866, each being published in the year subsequent.  The report for 1865 said the membership had grown to over 300.

Early members besides Nadar included Baron [[Isidore Taylor]] and physicist [[Jacques Babinet]], as well as [[Jules Verne]], who served as moderator.<ref>[[Begley, 2017, The Great Nadar]], p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yZQnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA735 135].</ref>

The society's emphasis on heavier-than-air flight came at a time when ballooning was popular, and Nadar himself was bopping around Europe in ''[[Le Géant]]''. Several of the members' contemporary publications argued for the (eventual) superiority of heavier-than-air vessels, viz.:
* [[Manifeste de l'autolocomotion aérienne, 1863]]
* [[De La Landelle, 1863, Aviation ou Navigation Aérienne]]
* [[Ponton d'Amécourt, 1864, La conquête de l'air par l'hélice]]
* [[Ponton d'Amécourt, 1864, Collection de mémoires sur la locomotion aérienne sans ballons]]

=== Officers ===
De Landelle's first report, for 1864, indicates that the club's president was [[Jean-Augustin Barral]]; the ''Agent général'' was [[Yves Guyot]]. It also lists several honorary presidents: [[Jacques Babinet]], Jean-Augustin Barral, Franchot, baron Taylor ([[Isidore Taylor]]), and Nadar ("fondateur").<ref>[[Landelle, 1865, Société d'Encouragement pour la Locomotion Aérienne: Rapport du conseil d'administration sur le premier exercise, 1864]], p. [https://archive.org/details/rapportduconsel00laigoog/page/n6/mode/2up?view=theater 1].</ref>

=== References ===
<references />

=== Links ===
* [[w:fr:Société d'encouragement de la locomotion aérienne au moyen du plus lourd que l'air]]

{{Organization
|Organization names=Society for the Encouragement of Aerial Locomotion by Machines Heavier than Air : Société d'Encouragement pour la Locomotion Aérienne au Moyen d'Appareils plus Lourds que l'Air  
|Country=France
|City=Paris
|Scope=National
|Started aero=1864
|Ended aero=1868 ?
|Keywords=heavier-than-air
|Key people=Nadar; Isidore Taylor; Jacques Babinet; Jules Verne; Gabriel de La Landelle; Gustave-Louis-Marie de Ponton d'Amécourt; Victor Hugo; Jules Verne; Eugène Moreau; Jacques Babinet; Jean-Augustin Barral; Yves Guyot
|Wikidata id=Q30738521}}

{{Standard company reports 2|Société d'encouragement pour la locomotion aérienne au moyen d'appareils plus lourds que l'air|Société d'encouragement pour la locomotion aérienne}}