Albert Plesman (the Hague, 7 september 1889 – Paris, 31 december 1953) was a Dutch aviation pioneer and founder of the KLM.
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Life Course[Edit][]
Plesman was born as the son of an egg trader in the Hague. He married on 27 december 1917 with Susanna Jacoba (Suus) van Eijk, daughter of a cheese manufacturer in Gouda. They had a daughter and three sons born: Hans, Jan, Àlbert Jr. (Abbey) and Pia.
Plesman was stationed to Soesterbergin 1915, where he as a professional officer at the mobilized Dutch air forces (then called the "military Aviation Department") earned his military pilot's license in 1918.
Plesman was co-organizer of the first air traffic Exhibition Amsterdam which was held from 1 August to 15 september 1919. There were as many as 800,000 visitors. For this occasion, exhibition halls were built, which after the event in use were taken by Anthony Fokker, for his newly established aircraft manufacturer to Fokker Amsterdam-Noord.
All these activities led to the creation of the N.V. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM) for Netherlands and colonies, of which Plesman became Director and later, and which he made to a thriving business. After the Second World War Plesman was appointed president of KLM. After the restoration of the damage caused by the war, the company under his leadership an airline of great allure.
Plesman died in 1953 in his hometown to a vascular disease.
Honors[Edit][]
- In 1925, Plesman was appointed Knight of the order of Orange-Nassau. [1]. In 1931, he was promoted to officer in this order. [2] In 1934 became Plesman made a Knight in the order of the Netherlands lion. [3] In 1949, Plesman at the 30th anniversary of the KLM promoted to Commander of the order of Orange-Nassau. [4]
- Plesman was appointed Knight In 1931 in the Danish order of the Dannebrog, in 1932, he was appointed officer of the Belgian order of Leopold II and an officer of the Swedish Wasa Order. In 1935, he was promoted to Commander of the order of Leopold II. In the same year he was also appointed commander of the Czechoslovakorder of the White Lion. [5] [6]
- In 1947 the Delft University granted him an honorary doctorate.
- For his extraordinary international civil aviation development was awarded in 1959 by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO posthumously the first Edward Warner-Medal awarded.
- C.J. said Medal
Miscellaneous[Edit][]
- Before the second world war Plesman conversations with Göring and Mussolini about the tense political relations in Europe. Immediately after the outbreak of World War II he tried to mediate between Germany and England. Not everyone could appreciate these actions of Plesman in Netherlands. [7]
- In 1942 sat Plesman caught in the Orange hotel and reflected on the future. "Boys of energy, knowledge and act" would be necessary and partly on the Plesmans initiative was shortly after the second world war to Breukelen Nijenrode Castle hired the singer Dési von Halban, Jacques goudstikker's widow. So could here theDutch Training Institute for foreign countries, the Netherlands's first business school , in the autumn of 1946 be opened by Prince Bernhard.
- Albert Plesman ranks as the creator of the name Randstad. According to tradition happened that when he was looking for a location for a national Airport. Flying above the West of Netherlands he saw "a ring of towns on the edge of a large green space". The ring of cities he called later the Randstad, and the green in between became known as the green heart.
- Plesman pleaded in vain for displacement of Schiphol to a location near burgerveen.
- In the Hague is the Ministry of transport, public works and Water Management head office located in the former KLM at the Plesmanweg. Also in the street name registry of Amsterdam, Almelo, Barneveld, beverwijk, Budel, Goes, Gouda, Helmond, 's-Hertogenbosch, Houses, Maarssen, Leiden, Rotterdam, schoonhoven,Utrecht, and Zoetermeer Winterswijk comes Albert Plesman, with which the importance is shown to him as aviation pioneer is awarded.
His family[Edit][]
Plesman's two sons were killed in the exercise of their profession as a pilot.
- Hans Plesman (1918-1949) made as a reserve Lieutenant in the battle of 1940 most operational flight hours in a Fokker d.XXI and got the bronze lion. He was killed as a KLM Lockheed Constellation -Commander of the "Roermond" on 23 June 1949 in sea at Bari, Italy.
- Jan Leendert Plesman (1919-1944) became mission to England and was called ' the Flying Dutchman ' called: he fled in 1940 with his friend, second lieutenant in Belgium, by bike via the LuVA's Geert Ochieng, France and Spain to Portugal. From there they flew in August 1941 with a Douglas DC-3 to Bristol, where he became a Spitfirepilot. On 23 december 1941, he made his first solo flight. On Friday 1 september 1944 was Jan in his Spitfire of the 322 Dutch Squadron RAF shot down by the Luftwaffe , probably northeast of Saint-Omer. He is never recovered and is commemorated at the Air Forces Memorial inRunnymede. He received the Cross of merit and the French Croix de Guerre.