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Albert Plesman (1953)

Albert Plesman (7 September 1889 – 31 December 1953) was a Dutch pioneer in aviation and the founder of the KLM, the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name. Together with Anthony Fokker, he was a founder of the KLM. Until his death, he was also on the board of the Dutch airline, which was to become one of the most important airlines in the world under his leadership.

He was born as the son of an egg trader from The Hague. In 1915 he joined the mobilized Dutch airforce as a professional officer, at the time still called the "militaire luchtvaartafdeling" (military aviation department), in Soesterberg. After World War I, in which the Netherlands remained neutral, he started the organization of ELTA, the "Eerste Luchtverkeer Tentoonstelling Amsterdam" (First Aviation Exhibition Amsterdam), held from 1 August till 14 September 1919. For that occasion enormous halls (hangars) were built. Right after the exhibition these were used by Anthony Fokker, for his new company Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek (Dutch Aircraft Factory), subsequently the Fokker airplane factory.

All these activities led to the establishment of the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), of which Plesman became director, and which he made a flourishing company. After World War II Plesman was appointed president-director of KLM. After the recovery from the war the company became a renowned airline company under his leadership. On 25 February 1946, KLM had the first airline flights from continental Europe to the USA. For his efforts he received in 1947 an honorary doctorate of the Technical University of Delft. Plesman pleaded in vain for a displacement of Schiphol Airport to a location near Burgerveen. The father of the KLM died in The Hague on December 31 1953.

Biography

Albert Plesman was born on 7 September 1889 to his father, Johan Cornelis Plesman, an egg trader from the Hague and his mother Hendrika Ven Wessel. He was one of 7 children in the Plesman household.

Albert Plesman was raised in Protestant household under the strict rule of his father. He was known to act in a uniform nature, with episodes of obscure sporadic behavior. These episodes led him to attending the HBS in the Hague of Netherlands. Albert realized great strengths in the mathematics with his time and HBS, which spawned an interest in commercial aviation.

Upon the death of his mother and his graduation of HBS, Plesman decided to begin schooling with the Alkmaar Cadet School for service in Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL). He then attended the Royal Military Academy in Breda, Netherlands - where he first explored his interest in aviation through access to the Gilze-Rijen airfield. Plesman then began his tenure as 2nd lieutenant where his access to aviation expanded. He was exposed to a lieutenant pilot by the name of W.C.J. Versteegh in a Farman F.20: a dream became reality.

During his secondment with the Cyclists he became acquainted with Suze van Eijk, with whom he married in 1917, despite an initial rejection by her father, a mediated Gouda cheese merchant. On the recommendation of his commander, Albert succeeded in being seconded to Soesterberg at the observer course of the Aviation Department (LVA); afterwards he returned to the cyclists, now in Roosendaal. It was not until April 1917 that he was definitively transferred to Soesterberg as a student flyer.

Decorations and awards

• Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau (1925)
• Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (1931)
• Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1934)
• Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (1949, at the 30th anniversary of KLM)
• Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark, 1931)
• Officer of the Order of Leopold II (Belgium, 1932)
• Officer of the Order of Vasa (Sweden, 1932)
• Commander of the Order of Leopold II (Belgium, 1935)
• Commander of the Order of the White Lion (Czechoslovak, 1935)
• Honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Delft (1947)
• The first Edward Warner Award, for his achievements for international civil aviation (International Civil Aviation Organization, posthumously, 1959)
• C.J. Snijders Medal

Publication

• Plan for international cooperation

Category:1889 births Category:1953 deaths Category:People from The Hague Category:Dutch aviators Category:Dutch businesspeople Category:Dutch corporate directors Category:Dutch chief executives in the airline industry Category:Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Category:Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Category:Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Category:Commanders of the Order of Leopold II Category:Recipients of the Order of Vasa Category:Commanders of the Order of the White Lion