Pierre de Caters
Adventurer, aviator, auto racer, motorboat racer
Died when: 68 years 87 days (818 months)Star Sign: Capricorn
Baron Pierre de Caters (25 December 1875, in Berchem – 21 March 1944, in Paris) was a Belgian adventurer, aviator and car and motorboat racer.
In 1908, he was the first Belgian to fly an aircraft.He was also the first Belgian to receive a pilot's license from the Belgian air club on 2 December 1909 and received a gold medal for the first kilometer in the same year.
He was the first aircraft manufacturer in Belgium and the first instructor of military aviation.He also took part in car and motorboat races in Belgium and France.
In 1904, he briefly held the land speed record, driving a DMG Mercedes Simplex at 97.25 mph (156.51 km/h) on a 1 km (0.62 mi) beach course in Ostend, Belgium.
In World War I he joined Belgian military aviation, commanding the flying school of Étampes.
