Steponas Darius (born Steponas Darašius; January 8, 1896 in Rubiškė, now Klaipėda district of Lithuania – July 17, 1933 near Soldin, Germany) was a Lithuanian-American pilot. Born in Rubiškė, in the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire, Darašius emigrated to the USA with his family in 1907. In 1917 he joined the United States Army, after the United States entered World War I, and changed his name to Darius. He served as a telephone operator in the 149th field artillery regiment, fighting in France and was awarded the Purple Heart medal. In 1920 he returned to Lithuania, and joined the Lithuanian army, graduating from military school in 1921. He helped to organize the Klaipėda Revolt of 1923. While in Lithuania he completed aviation training. In 1927 he returned to the USA and started working in civil aviation. On July 15, 1933, he along with Stasys Girėnas, attempted a nonstop flight from New York City, USA to Kaunas, Lithuania - a total of 7,186 km, in Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane named "Lituanica". After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 37 hours and 11 minutes of nonstop flight, they crashed on July 17, 0:36 AM (Berlin Time) by the village of Kuhdamm, near Soldin, Germany (now Pszczelnik, near Mysliborz area, Poland), due to difficult weather conditions combined with engine defects. Both aviators were killed in the crash. They covered a distance of 3,984 miles (6,411 kilometers) without landing, only 650 km short of their final destination.
See also
- Lituanica for complete information
