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Aleksandr Fyodorovich Mozhaysky
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Aleksandr Fyodorovich Mozhaysky

Russian naval officer
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Written by
Tom D. Crouch
Curator Emeritus, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C. Author of The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright and many others.
Tom D. Crouch
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Article History
Quick Facts
Born:
March 9, 1825, Rochensalm, Russia [now Kotka, Fin.]
Died:
March 20, 1890, St. Petersburg (aged 65)
Subjects Of Study:
aerodynamics
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Aleksandr Fyodorovich Mozhaysky (born March 9, 1825, Rochensalm, Russia [now Kotka, Fin.]—died March 20, 1890, St. Petersburg) was a Russian naval officer and early experimenter with winged flying machines. Having conducted his own studies of aerodynamic phenomena, Mozhaysky constructed a series of flying models and kites. One account suggests that he designed a glider and was towed into the air by horses. His plans for a full-scale powered flying machine were studied and approved by a government commission that included the great Russian chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev. Mozhaysky’s aircraft apparently made a short hop into the air following a run ...(100 of 133 words)

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