John Alcock

1893-1919

English aviator who served as pilot on the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Alcock, guided by navigator Arthur Whitten Brown, flew a converted twin-engine Vickers Vimy bomber 2,000 miles (3,218 km) through snow, ice, and dense fog on June 15-16, 1919. The 16-hour flight began in Newfoundland and ended with an unplanned crash landing in a bog near Clifden, Ireland. Alcock received a knighthood and a share of a £10,000 prize for his achievement, but died just six months later in a crash in France.