Business Magnates & Tycoons Codexery

Charles Rolls

Co-founder of Rolls-Royce and early aviation pioneer.

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He was a pioneer in both motoring and aviation, co-founding the Rolls-Royce company and becoming the first person to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.[1][2] He was killed in an air crash at age 32, the first Briton to die in a powered aircraft accident.[3][4]

Key facts and history

After graduating from Cambridge in 1898, he started one of Britain's first car dealerships, C. S. Rolls & Co., in 1903.[1] By 1909 his interest in the business waned, and he resigned as Technical managing director.[5] The 1st Baron Llangattock and Lady Llangattock had three sons, of whom Charles was the youngest.[6] At Eton College, his passion for engines led classmates to call him "dirty Rolls".[5]

When he was 18, during 1896, he went to Paris and purchased a Peugeot Phaeton, his first automobile.[7] A non-stop round-trip flight across the English Channel was accomplished by him on 2 June 1910, which lasted 95 minutes.[2] During a flying display on 12 July 1910 at Hengistbury Airfield, the tail of his Wright Flyer separated, causing his death.[3]

What the cited sources add

The same log notes that the flight took place at a French artillery testing ground 11 kilometers east of Le Mans.[8] A Geograph photograph identifies The Hendre as the former home of Charles Stewart Rolls, co-founder of the Rolls-Royce company.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Charles Rolls" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pugh, "The Magic of a Name – The Rolls-Royce Story: The First 40 Years", Icon Books, 2001; "Charles Rolls", BBC; "Draft London Plan Consultation: ref. Chapter 7 Heritage – Neglect & Destruction, The "Lillie Enclave" Fulham", Lillie Road Residents Association, February 2018; "C S Rolls' car showroom, Lillie Hall, Fulham, London, 1903.", Science Museum (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Charles Rolls" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Charles Rolls", BBC; "Royal Aero Club Awards & Trophies", The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom; Louis Bleriot on 25 July 1909 and Count Jacques de Lesseps on 21 May 1910 crossed West-bound before him (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Charles Rolls" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Charles Rolls and the tragic Dorset plane crash that ended the aviation pioneer's life", BOurnemouth Echo, 2 October 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Charles Rolls" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Aeroplane Accident, Mr Rolls Killed at Bournemouth. The Times, Wednesday, 13 July 1910; p. 12; Issue 39323; "Mr. Rolls is the tenth airman who has met with a fatal accident in a motor-driven flying machine, and he is the first Englishman who has sacrificed his life in (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Charles Rolls" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pugh, "The Magic of a Name – The Rolls-Royce Story: The First 40 Years", Icon Books, 2001 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Charles Rolls" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Hendre", Geograph Britain and Ireland (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Charles Rolls" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Vance, "Ways of the World: A History of the World's Roads and of the Vehicles That Used Them", Rutgers University Press, 1992 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "U.S Centennial of Flight Commission: Wilbur & Orville Wright: A Chronology".Flight Log 1908 Camp d'Auvours, Le Mans, France.Retrieved 25 July 2018. facts only, no text reused. cabangu.com.br
  9. "The Hendre", Geograph Britain and Ireland. facts only, no text reused. geograph.org.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Charles Rolls (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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