Geoffrey De Havilland
Geoffrey De Havilland (1882-1965), British aircraft designer. He built his first aeroplane in 1908 and during World War I designed and tested several fighter and bomber aircraft. He subsequently formed his own company, which produced the famous two-seater Moth and, in World War II, the all-purpose Mosquito. De Havilland was knighted in 1944. After the war he developed the Vampire and the Comet, two of the first jet-propelled aircraft.