Bleriot

Blériot is a French surname. The name is most closely associated with Louis Blériot (1872–1936), a French aviator, inventor, and aircraft designer who founded the company Blériot Aéronautique.

On 25 July 1909, he piloted the Blériot XI across the English Channel, making the first sustained, controlled powered flight between England and France. The flight from Calais to Dover demonstrated the viability of heavier-than-air flight and earned him international recognition.

Blériot Aéronautique produced a number of aircraft in the 1910s and 1920s, contributing to the development of French military and civilian aviation. The Blériot XI and subsequent designs emphasized monoplane configurations and lightweight construction, shaping early European aircraft design.

Today, the name Blériot is remembered as an important early contributor to aviation history and as a marker of the French aerospace industry's beginnings.