View source for Ferdinand von Zeppelin

{{redirect-several|Zeppelin|Graf Zeppelin}}
{{short description|German general and airship pioneer (1838–1917)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Graf]]
| name          = Ferdinand von Zeppelin
| native_name   = Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von&nbsp;Zeppelin
| native_name_lang = German
| image         = Bildnis Ferdinand von Zeppelin.png
| caption       = Zeppelin in 1917
| birth_date    = 8 July 1838
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1917|03|8|1838|07|8}}
| birth_place   = [[Konstanz]], [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]]
| death_place   = [[Charlottenburg]], [[German Empire|Germany]]
| allegiance    = [[Kingdom of Württemberg]] (1855&ndash;1917) <br> [[German Empire]] (1871&ndash;1917)
| branch        = Cavalry
| serviceyears  = 1855-1891
| rank          = {{lang|de|[[General der Kavallerie]]}}
| servicenumber = 
| unit          = 
| commands      = [[List of Imperial German Uhlan regiments|19th Uhlans]]
| battles       = 
| battles_label = 
| awards        = 
| spouse        = {{Marriage|Isabella Freiin von Wolff|1869<!--No "his death" per manuAl of style-->}}
| relations     = 
| laterwork     = 
| signature     = Ferdinand von Zeppelin signature.svg
| website       = 
| signature_size = 
| signature_alt = 
| module        = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Zeppelin speech.ogg|title=Ferdinand von Zeppelin's voice|type=speech|description=Recorded 24 August 1908}}
}}

[[Graf|Count]] '''Ferdinand von Zeppelin''' ({{langx|de|Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von&nbsp;Zeppelin}};<ref name="DNB">{{cite web |title=Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek |url=http://d-nb.info/gnd/118636545 |language=de |access-date=4 April 2009 }}</ref> 8 July 1838 – 8 March 1917) was a [[General (Germany)|German general]] and later inventor of the [[Zeppelin]] rigid airships. His name became synonymous with airships and dominated long-distance flight until the 1930s. He founded the company [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin]].

==Family and personal life==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1986-128-10, Isabella Gräfin von Zeppelin.jpg|thumb|upright|Isabella Gräfin von Zeppelin]]
Ferdinand was the scion of a {{ill|Zeppelin (noble family)|de|Zeppelin (Adelsgeschlecht)|lt=noble family}}. [[Zepelin]], the family's eponymous hometown, is a small community outside the town of [[Bützow]], in [[Mecklenburg]].
[[File:Ferdinand von Zeppelin in June 1863 detail- Virginia, Fairfax, a group of officers at Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, Fairfax Courthouse. Studying the art of... - NARA - 533319 (cropped).jpg|thumb|308x308px|Ferdinand von Zeppelin at the [[Army of the Potomac|Army of the Potomac's]] Headquarters, [[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax Courthouse, Virginia]], June 1863 by [[Alexander Gardner (photographer)|Alexander Gardner]]]]
Ferdinand was the son of [[Württemberg]] Minister and [[Hofmarschall]] Friedrich Jerôme Wilhelm Karl Graf von Zeppelin (1807–1886) and his wife Amélie Françoise Pauline (born Macaire d'Hogguer) (1816–1852). Ferdinand spent his childhood with his sister and brother at their Girsberg manor near [[Konstanz]], where he was educated by private tutors.<ref name="uk">{{cite web |title=Zeppelin Biographie |url=http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Geschichte/Zeppelin/english/bio.htm |access-date=4 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220123354/http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Geschichte/Zeppelin/english/bio.htm |archive-date=20 February 2009  }}</ref> Ferdinand married Isabella Freiin von Wolff in Berlin. She was from the house of Alt-Schwanenburg (located in the present-day town of [[Gulbene]] in Latvia, then part of [[Governorate of Livonia|Livonia]]).<ref name="roots">{{cite web |title=RootsWeb: GEN-DE-L Re: Zeppelin and Brandenstein family |url=http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-DE/2002-05/1020898890 |access-date=4 April 2009 }}</ref> They had a daughter, Helene (Hella) von Zeppelin (1879–1967) who in 1909 married Graf Alexander von Brandenstein-Zeppelin (1881–1949).

Ferdinand had a nephew {{interlanguage link|Baron Max von Gemmingen|de|Max von Gemmingen (1862–1924)}}, who volunteered at the start of the First World War, after he was past military age, to become general staff officer assigned to the military airship [[LZ 12 Sachsen]].<ref name=Lehmann>[[#Lehmann|Lehmann]]</ref>

==Army career==
[[File:Hauptmann Graf Zeppelin.jpg|thumb|right|upright|In uniform as adjutant to Charles I of Württemberg, 1865]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1972-099-15, Ferdinand Graf Zeppelin am Schreibtisch.jpg|thumb|right|Zeppelin in 1900]]
In 1853, Count Zeppelin left to attend the [[University of Stuttgart|polytechnic]] at Stuttgart, and in 1855 he became a cadet of the military school at [[Ludwigsburg]] and then started his career as an army officer in the [[army of Württemberg]].<ref name="uk"/>

By 1858, Zeppelin had been promoted to [[lieutenant]], and that year he was given leave to study science, engineering and chemistry at [[Tübingen]]. Würtemberg's mobilising for the [[Second Italian War of Independence|Austro-Sardinian War]] interrupted this study in 1859 when he was called up to the ''{{lang|de|Ingenieurkorps}}'' (Würtemberg [[Military engineer|engineering corps]]) at [[Ulm]].<ref name="hb">{{cite web |title=Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin |url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/ZeppelinFerdinand/index.html|publisher=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de |access-date=6 December 2012}}</ref>

In 1863, Zeppelin took leave to act as an observer for the Union's [[Army of the Potomac]] in the [[American Civil War]] in Virginia. Later, he travelled to the Upper Midwest with a party that probably included two Russians. Led by Native American (probably [[Ojibwe]]) guides, they canoed and portaged from the western end of Lake Superior up the [[Saint Louis River (Lake Superior tributary)|St. Louis River]] and across to [[Crow Wing, Minnesota]], on the Upper Mississippi River. On reaching [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]] (via stagecoach and hired carriage), Zeppelin encountered German-born itinerant balloonist John Steiner and made his first aerial ascent with him from a site near the International Hotel in downtown St. Paul on 19 August.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} Many years later he attributed the beginning of his thinking about dirigible lighter-than-air craft to this experience.<ref name=Americana/><ref>{{cite web|title=John Steiner Balloon Ascension Ambrotype, 1857|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/john-steiner-balloon-ascension-ambrotype-1857|website=National Air and Space Museum|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=9 March 2017|date=16 May 2016|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613160905/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/john-steiner-balloon-ascension-ambrotype-1857|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1865, Zeppelin was appointed adjutant of the [[Charles I of Württemberg|King of Württemberg]] and as general staff officer participated in the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866. He was awarded the ''[[Ritterkreuz]]'' (Knight's Cross) of the [[Military Merit Order (Württemberg)|Military Merit Order of Württemberg]].<ref name="uk"/> In the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871 a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines, during which he narrowly avoided capture, made him famous among many Germans.<ref>{{cite news|title=The German Official Account Of The Franco-German War |journal=The Times |location=London |date=25 October 1872 |page=10 |issue=27517 }}</ref>

From 1882 to 1885, Zeppelin was commander of the 19th [[Uhlan]]s in Ulm, and was then appointed to be the envoy of Württemberg in Berlin. In 1890, he gave up the post to return to army service and was given command of a Prussian cavalry brigade. His handling of this at the 1890 autumn manoeuvres was severely criticised, and he was forced to retire from the Army,<ref name="uk2">{{cite web |title=Zeppelin Biographie |url=http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Geschichte/Zeppelin/english/lebensdaten.htm |access-date=4 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116144101/http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/Philo/Geschichte/Zeppelin/english/lebensdaten.htm |archive-date=16 November 2009}}</ref> albeit with the rank of {{lang|de|[[General (Germany)#19th century|generalleutnant]]}}.

===Promotions===
* 23 September 1858: Lieutenant (as of December 1871 ''Second-Lieutenant'', as of January 1899 ''Leutnant'') 
* 22 September 1862: Ober-Lieutenant (as of December 1871 ''Premier-Lieutenant'', as of January 1899 ''Oberleutnant'') 
* 31 March 1866: [[Rittmeister]]
* 4 May 1873: Major
* 18 September 1880: Oberstlieutenant (as of January 1899 ''Oberstleutnant'')
* 12 January 1884: Oberst
* 4 August 1888: Generalmajor
* 18 November 1890: Generallieutenant (as of January 1899 ''Generalleutnant'') 
* 5 December 1905: Charakter als General der Kavallerie

==Airships==
Ferdinand von Zeppelin served as an official observer with the Union Army during the [[U.S Civil War]].<ref name="eb1922">{{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Zeppelin, Count Ferdinand von}}</ref> During the [[Peninsular Campaign]], he visited the balloon camp of [[Thaddeus S. C. Lowe]] shortly after Lowe's services were terminated by the Army. Zeppelin then travelled to St. Paul, where the German-born former Army balloonist John Steiner offered tethered flights. His first ascent in a balloon is said to have been the inspiration of his later interest in aeronautics.<ref name=Americana>{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Zeppelin, Ferdinand |vb=x}}</ref>

Zeppelin's ideas for large [[airships]] were first expressed in a diary entry dated 25 March 1874. Inspired by a recent lecture given by [[Heinrich von Stephan]] on the subject of "World Postal Services and Air Travel", he outlined the basic principle of his later craft: a large rigidly-framed outer [[Airship#Envelope|envelope]] containing a number of separate gasbags.<ref>Robinson 1973 p. 13</ref> In 1887, the success of [[Charles Renard]] and [[Arthur Krebs]]' 1884 airship ''[[La France (airship)|La France]]'' prompted him to send a letter to the [[Charles I of Württemberg|King of Württemberg]] about the military necessity for dirigibles and the lack of German development in this field.<ref name="DooA176">Dooley 2004, p. 176</ref>

After his resignation from the army in 1891 at age 52, Zeppelin devoted his full attention to airships.<ref name="eb1922"/><ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32570/32570-h/32570-h.htm
|quote=In 1887 Zeppelin submitted a memorandum to the King of Württemberg in which he explained in detail the requirements of a really successful airship and stated many reasons why such airships ought to be large and of rigid construction. However, nothing of importance was actually accomplished until he resigned as a General in 1891 in order to give his full time to his invention.
|title=Zeppelin: The Story of a Great Achievement
|author=Harry Vissering
|year=1922}}
</ref> He hired the engineer [[Theodor Gross]] to make tests of possible materials and to assess available engines for both fuel efficiency and power-to-weight ratio. He also had air propellers tested and strove to obtain higher purity hydrogen gas from suppliers.<ref name="DooA177">Dooley 2004, p. 177</ref> Zeppelin was so confident of his concept that in June 1891 he wrote to the King of Württemberg's secretary, announcing he was to start building, and shortly after requested a review from the Prussian Army's Chief of General Staff. The next day Zeppelin almost gave up as he realized he had underestimated air resistance,<ref>Dooley 2004, p. 178</ref> but resumed work on hearing that [[Hans Bartsch von Sigsfeld]] made light but powerful engines, information soon shown to be overoptimistic. Whereupon Zeppelin urged his supporter [[Max von Duttenhofer]] to press [[Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft]] for more efficient engines so as not to fall behind the French.<ref name="DooA179">Dooley 2004, p. 179</ref> Duttenhofer wrote to Gross threatening to withdraw support, and Zeppelin shortly afterwards sacked Gross, citing Gross's lack of support and writing that he was "an obstacle in my path".<ref name="DooA179"/>

Despite those setbacks, Zeppelin's organization had refined his idea: a rigid aluminium framework covered in a fabric envelope; separate multiple internal gas cells, each free to expand and contract thus obviating the need for [[ballonet]]s; a modular frame allowing addition of sections and gas cells; and the controls, engines and gondola rigidly attached. After publishing the idea in March 1892 he hired the engineer [[Theodor Kober]] who started work testing and further refining the design.<ref name="DooA181">Dooley 2004, p. 181</ref> Zeppelin submitted Kober's 1893 detailed designs to the [[Prussian Airship Service]],<ref name=Doo187>Dooley 2004, p. 187</ref> whose committee reviewed it in 1894.<ref name=Doo187/> In June 1895 this committee recommended minimum funds be granted, but withdrew this offer and rejected the design in July.<ref>Dooley 2004, p. 188</ref>

One month later, in August 1895, Zeppelin received a patent for Kober's design and described as an "airship-train" (''{{lang|de|Lenkbarer Luftfahrzug mit mehreren hintereinanderen angeordneten Tragkörpern}}'' [Steerable airship-train with several carrier structures arranged one behind another].)<ref>Dooley 2004, p. 190</ref><ref name="Hir">
{{cite book |author1=Ernst-Heinrich Hirschel |author2=Horst Prem |author3=Gero Madelung |title=Aeronautical Research in Germany: From Lilienthal Until Today |url=https://archive.org/details/aeronauticalrese00hirs |url-access=limited |pages=[https://archive.org/details/aeronauticalrese00hirs/page/n280 25]–26 |publisher=Springer |year=2004 |isbn=978-3-540-40645-7}}
</ref> The patent describes an airship consisting of three rigid sections flexibly connected. The front section, intended to contain the crew and engines, was {{convert|117.35|m|ft|abbr=on}} long with a gas capacity of 9514&nbsp;cu&nbsp;m (336,000&nbsp;cu&nbsp;ft): the middle section was {{convert|16|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long with an intended useful load of {{convert|599|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the rear section {{convert|39.93|m|ft|abbr=on}} long with an intended load of {{convert|1996|kg|lb|abbr=on}}<ref>Robinson 1973 pp. 15–16</ref>

In early 1896, Zeppelin's lecture on steerable airship designs given to the [[Verein Deutscher Ingenieure|Association of German Engineers (VDI)]] so impressed them that the VDI launched a public appeal for financial support for him.<ref name="Hir"/> This led to a first contact with [[Carl Berg (airship builder)|Carl Berg]] who supplied aluminium alloys which Zeppelin had tested, and by May 1898 they, together with [[Philipp Holzmann]],<ref name="DooA194"/> Daimler, [[Max Eyth|Max von Eyth]], [[Carl von Linde]], and [[Voith#Friedrich Voith|Friedrich Voith]], had formed the joint stock company ''Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Luftschiffahrt''.<ref name="Hir"/> Zeppelin invested 441,000 Marks, over half the total capital.<ref name="Hir"/><ref name="DooA194">Dooley 2004, pp. 193–194</ref> Actual construction then started of what was to be the first successful rigid airship, the [[Zeppelin LZ1]].

Berg's involvement with the project later led to allegations that Zeppelin had used the patent and designs of [[David Schwarz (aviation inventor)|David Schwarz]]'s airship of 1897. Berg had signed a contract with Schwartz under the terms of which he undertook not to supply aluminium to any other airship manufacturer. He later made a payment to Schwartz's widow as compensation for dissolving this arrangement.<ref>Dooley 2004, p. 193</ref> Claims that Zeppelin had been influenced by Schwartz were denied by Eckener in 1938<ref name=Eck210>Eckener 1938, pp. 210–211. "It is obvious at the first glance that the Zeppelin ship had nothing but its aluminium in common with the Schwarz machine, not to mention that Count Zeppelin had fixed the essential features long before Schwarz' ship appeared."</ref> and also rejected by later historians. Zeppelin's design was "radically different"<ref>Dooley 2004, p. 191</ref> in both its scale and its framework from that of Schwarz.

[[File:First Zeppelin ascent.jpg|thumbnail|First flight of the LZ 1]]
On 2 July 1900, Zeppelin made the first flight with the [[Zeppelin LZ1|LZ&nbsp;1]] over [[Lake Constance]] near [[Friedrichshafen]] in southern Germany. The airship rose from the ground and remained in the air for 20 minutes, but was damaged on landing. After repairs and some modifications two further flights were made by LZ&nbsp;1 in October 1900, However the airship was not considered successful enough to justify investment by the government, and since the experiments had exhausted Count Zeppelin's funds, he was forced to suspend his work.<ref>Robinson 1973 p. 28</ref>

Zeppelin still enjoyed the support of the King of Württemberg, who authorised a state lottery which raised 124,000 marks. A contribution of 50,000 marks was received from Prussia, and Zeppelin raised the remainder of the necessary money by mortgaging his wife's estates. Still supported by Daimler and Carl Berg, construction of his second airship, the [[Zeppelin LZ 2|LZ&nbsp;2]], was started in April 1905. It was completed by 30 November, when it was first taken out of its hangar, but a ground-handling mishap caused the bows to be pulled into the water, damaging the forward control surfaces. Repairs were completed by 17 January 1906, when LZ&nbsp;2 made its only flight. Too much ballast was jettisoned on takeoff, causing the airship to rise to an altitude of {{convert|427|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Here a stiff breeze was encountered, and although the airship was at first able to overcome this, the failure of the forward engine due to cooling problems followed by the failure of the other due to a broken clutch-spring left the airship at the mercy of the wind. It was brought down near [[Kisslegg]] in the [[Allgäu]] mountains, with some damage caused by the stern's striking some trees during mooring, but was more severely damaged by high winds the following night, and had to be dismantled.<ref>Robinson 1973 p. 30</ref>
 
In May 1906, work started on a third airship, [[Zeppelin LZ 3|LZ&nbsp;3]]. This was the same size and configuration as LZ&nbsp;2, but had a greater gas capacity. Finished by the end of the year, it made two successful flights at a speed of {{convert|30|mph}}, and in 1907 attained a speed of {{convert|36|mph}}.<ref name="eb1922"/> The success of LZ&nbsp;3 produced a change in the official attitude to his work, and the [[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]] voted that he should be awarded 500,000 marks to continue his work.<ref>Robinson 1973, p. 33</ref>  However the purchase by the Government of an airship was made conditional on the successful completion of a 24‑hour trial flight. Knowing that this was beyond the capabilities of LZ&nbsp;3, work was started on a larger airship, the [[Zeppelin LZ4|LZ&nbsp;4]]. This first flew on 20 June 1908. The final financial breakthrough only came after the Zeppelin LZ&nbsp;4 was destroyed by fire at [[Echterdingen]] after breaking free of its moorings during a storm. The airship's earlier flights had excited public interest in the development of the airships, and a subsequent collection campaign raised over 6&nbsp;million German marks. The money was used to create the '[[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin|Luftschiffbau-Zeppelin GmbH]]' and the Zeppelin foundation (''Zeppelin Stiftung'').<ref>Dooley 2004, p. 200</ref>

Following the destruction of LZ&nbsp;4, LZ&nbsp;3, which had been damaged when the floating hangar broke free of its mooring during a storm, was repaired: at the same time it was lengthened by 8&nbsp;m. It was re-inflated on 21 October 1908 and after a series of short test flights a flight lasting 5&nbsp;hours 55&nbsp;minutes took place on 27 October with the Kaiser's brother, [[Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929)|Admiral Prince Heinrich]], on board. On 7 November, with [[Wilhelm, German Crown Prince|Crown Prince William]] as a passenger,<ref>
{{cite book
| title                 = The Real Crown Prince: A Record and an Indictment
| url                   = https://archive.org/details/realcrownprincer00kingrich
| publisher             = Newnes
| date      = 1915
| page                  = [https://archive.org/details/realcrownprincer00kingrich/page/99 99]
| access-date            = 17 February 2014
| quote                 = In November, 1908, the Crown Prince steered the largest Zeppelin then made [...]
}}
</ref>
it flew {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on}} to [[Donaueschingen]], where the Kaiser was then staying. In spite of poor weather conditions, the flight succeeded: two days later LZ&nbsp;3 was officially accepted by the Government and on 10 November Zeppelin was rewarded with an official visit to Friedrichshafen by the Kaiser, during which a short demonstration flight over Lake Constance was made and Zeppelin awarded the [[Order of the Black Eagle]].<ref>Robinson p. 43.</ref>

Although a replacement for LZ 4, the [[Zeppelin LZ 5|LZ 5]] was built and accepted into Army service as L II, Zeppelin's relationship with the military authorities continued to be poor, and deteriorated considerably due to his criticism of the Army following the loss of L&nbsp;II, which was carried away from its moorings and wrecked on 25 April 1910.<ref>Robinson 1973, p. 48.</ref> However, the business director of Luftschiffbau-Zeppelin, [[Alfred Colsman]], came up with a scheme to capitalise on the public enthusiasm for Zeppelin's airships by establishing a passenger-carrying business.

Until 1914, the German Aviation Association (''Deutsche Luftschiffahrtsgesellschaft'' or [[DELAG]]) transported 37,250&nbsp;people on over 1,600 flights without an incident.<ref>
Lehmann Chapter I "All told, 37,250 passengers had been carried, 1,600 flights made, 3,200 hours spent in the air and 90,000 miles flown without accident"</ref> Within a few years the zeppelin revolution began creating the age of air transportation. During the [[First World War]], [[Imperial Germany]] decided to deploy Zeppelins as long-distance bombers and launched [[German bombing of Britain, 1914–1918|numerous attacks upon Belgium, France and the United Kingdom]].
<!-- please also add: first international airship flight, to Scandinavia; his activities from 1910 to 1917 -->

==Other aircraft==
* 1899 unrealised plans for a paddlewheel aeroplane<ref name="Hir"/>
* 1912 financial support of [[Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen]] which was to supply 850 aeroplanes 1917/1918;<ref name="Hir"/>
* 1914 commissions [[Claude Dornier]] to develop flying boats<ref name="Hir"/>
* 1914 founds Versuchsbau Gotha-Ost with [[Robert Bosch]], which built a number of ''[[Riesenflugzeug]] giant aircraft such as the [[Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI]]<ref name="Hir"/>

==Family==
Count Everhard von Zeppelin, Second Lieutenant in the German Lancers, married November 1895,
Mary "Mamie" McGarvey, daughter of Canadian magnate [[William Henry McGarvey]], owner of the oil wells of [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]] and his wife, Helena J. Weslowska.
A former Count von Zeppelin married a granddaughter of the 1st [[Earl of Ranfurly]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Morgan |editor-first=Henry James |editor-link=Henry James Morgan |title=Types of Canadian Women and of Women who are or have been Connected with Canada |location=Toronto |publisher=Williams Briggs |date=1903 |url=https://archive.org/details/typesofcanadianw01morguoft |page=[https://archive.org/details/typesofcanadianw01morguoft/page/347 347]}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Graf zeppelin bueste 01.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Bust of Zeppelin in the [[Aeronauticum]] at [[Nordholz]]]]
Count Zeppelin died early in 1917, before the end of the [[First World War]]. He did not live to witness either the provisional shutdown of the Zeppelin project by the [[Treaty of Versailles]] or the second resurgence of the Zeppelins under his successor [[Hugo Eckener]].
<!-- Please add these:
grave in Stuttgart at the [[Pragfriedhof]], memorial at Constance, museum, Echterdingen memorial stone. 1992 special postage stamp ...
 -->
The unfinished [[Second World War]] [[German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin|German aircraft carrier ''Graf Zeppelin'']], and two rigid airships (the world-circling [[LZ 127|LZ&nbsp;127]] ''Graf Zeppelin'', and [[LZ 130|LZ&nbsp;130]] ''Graf Zeppelin II'', twin to the ''[[LZ 129|Hindenburg]]'') were named after him.

In 1975, Zeppelin was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>

==Cultural references==
The name of the British rock group [[Led Zeppelin]] derives from his airships. His granddaughter Countess Eva von Zeppelin once threatened to sue them for illegal use of their family name while they were performing in [[Copenhagen]].<ref>[http://ledzeppelin.com/show/february-28-1970 Led Zeppelin – Official Website<!-- Bot-generated title -->] at ledzeppelin.com</ref>

A 1974 episode of [[Monty Python's Flying Circus]] ([[List of Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes#Series 4 (1974)|Series 4, Episode 1, ''The Golden Age Of Ballooning'']]) features a skit in which Count Zeppelin ([[Graham Chapman]]) has taken various members of the government up in his ship for a promotional flight, only to get angry and throw each guest out of the ship's [[Airship#Gondola|gondola]] while it is still in the air over the perceived insult of everyone referring to the craft as a ''balloon'' instead of his preferred ''airship'' or ''Zeppelin''.

==Honours and awards==
* [[Honorary citizen]] of the cities of [[Friedrichshafen]] (1907), [[Konstanz]], [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] and [[Stuttgart]] (1908), [[Munich]] and [[Lindau]] (1909), [[Baden-Baden]] (1910), and [[Ulm]] (1912)
* [[Honorary doctorate]]s from the Universities of [[University of Leipzig|Leipzig]], [[University of Tübingen|Tübingen]] (1908)<ref>{{cite web| url=https://geschichte.archiv.uni-leipzig.de/ws/ehrenpromotionen.php| title=Verzeichnis der Ehrenpromotionen| website=Archiv der Universität Leipzig| language=German| access-date=12 November 2022| archive-date=22 January 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122171154/https://geschichte.archiv.uni-leipzig.de/ws/ehrenpromotionen.php| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Meyer|title=Luftschiffe. Die Geschichte der deutschen Zeppeline|publisher=Wehr&Wissen|location=Koblenz/Bonn|year=1980|isbn=3-8033-0302-8|page=24}}</ref> and [[Technical University of Dresden|Dresden]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tu-dresden.de/ua/dokumentationen/dokumentationen/ehrenpromovenden-der-th-tu-dresden-alphabetisch/ehrendok#Z |title=Ehrenpromovenden der TH/TU Dresden |website=Technische Universität Dresden |language=German}}</ref>
* Honorary member of the Natural History Society of Württemberg, ''1910''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gesellschaft-naturkunde-wuerttemberg.de/files/Dateien/Geschichte/Ehrenmitglieder_2016.pdf |title=Ehrenmitglieder der Gesellschaft für Naturkunde in Württemberg |access-date=17 November 2022 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331131126/http://www.gesellschaft-naturkunde-wuerttemberg.de/files/Dateien/Geschichte/Ehrenmitglieder_2016.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Orders and decorations=== 
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* {{flag|Württemberg}}:<ref name="rangliste">{{citation|title=Rangliste de Königlich Preußischen Armee|year=1914|chapter=Militärisches Gefolge Seiner Majestät des Kaisers und Königs|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062308179&view=1up&seq=1208&skin=2021|page=1156|location=Berlin|publisher=Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn|language=German|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
** Service Award Cross, 1st Class
** Knight of the [[Military Merit Order (Württemberg)|Military Merit Order]], ''18 August 1866'';<ref name="wurtt6">{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|year=1869|chapter=Militar-Verdienst-Orden|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=awdTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA55|page=55|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Landesamt|language=German}}</ref> Commander, ''1 March 1875'';<ref name="wurtt1"/> Grand Cross, ''ca. 1907''
** [[Order of the Crown (Württemberg)|Knight of Honour of the Württemberg Crown]], with Swords, ''1870'';<ref name="wurtt1">{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|year=1889|chapter=Königliche Orden|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082046024&view=1up&seq=73 35], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082046024&view=1up&seq=94&skin=2021 56], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082046024&view=1up&seq=101&skin=2021 63]|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Landesamt|language=German}}</ref> Commander, ''1889'';<ref name="wurtt2">{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|year=1907|chapter=Königliche Orden|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=720NAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA34 34], [https://books.google.com/books?id=720NAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA79 79]|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Landesamt|language=German}}</ref> Grand Cross, ''ca. 1912''
** Commander of the [[Friedrich Order]], 2nd Class, ''1883'';<ref name="wurtt2"/> Grand Cross, ''1899''<ref name="wurtt2"/>
** Grand Gold Medal for Arts and Sciences, on Band of the Württemberg Crown Order
** Silver Karl-Olga Medal
** Silver Jubilee Medal
* {{flag|Baden}}:
** [[Order of the Zähringer Lion|Commander of the Zähringer Lion]], 2nd Class, ''1876''<ref>{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden|year=1910|chapter=Großherzogliche Orden|page=[https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1881442 194]|location=Karlsruhe|language=German}}</ref>
** Gold Medal for Arts and Sciences, on Band of the [[Order of Berthold the First]]
* {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}:<ref name="rangliste"/>
** Grand Cross of the [[Military Merit Order (Bavaria)|Military Merit Order]]
** Prince Regent Luitpold Medal, in Gold with Crown, ''1911''
* {{flag|Brunswick}}: Gold Medal of Merit for Arts and Sciences<ref name="rangliste"/>
* {{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} [[Ernestine duchies]]: Grand Cross of the [[Saxe-Ernestine House Order]]<ref name="rangliste"/>
* {{flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse}}: Grand Cross of the Merit [[Order of Philip the Magnanimous]], with Swords, ''24 March 1893''<ref name="ordensliste">{{citation|title=Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste|chapter=Verdienst-Orden Philipps des Großmütigen|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112089248600&view=1up&seq=192&skin=2021 170]|lang=German|location=Darmstadt|year=1907|publisher=Staatsverlag|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg}} [[Mecklenburg]]:<ref name="rangliste"/>
** [[Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)|Military Merit Cross]], 2nd Class ([[Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|Schwerin]])
** [[House Order of the Wendish Crown|Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown]], with Crown in Gold
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]]:<ref name="rangliste"/>
** Knight of Honour of the [[Johanniter Order]], ''22 July 1868'';<ref name="prus1">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste |journal=Preussische Ordens-Liste|volume=1|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=4 |pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=185&skin=2021 177], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=629&skin=2021 621], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=1094&skin=2021 1022] |lang=German|location=Berlin|year=1886}}</ref> Knight of Justice, ''1896''<ref name="prus2">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) |journal=Preussische Ordens-Liste|volume=1|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=4 |page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025921423&view=1up&seq=138 138] |lang=German|location=Berlin|year=1895}}</ref>
** [[Iron Cross]] (1870), 2nd Class on Black Band;<ref name="prus3">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste|volume=3|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878856&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|chapter=Eisernes Kreuz von 1870|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878856&view=1up&seq=1105 1103]|language=German|location=Berlin|publisher=Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei|year=1877|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> with Jubilee Clip (25 years), ''1895''
** [[War Commemorative Medal of 1870-1871]], ''1871''<ref name="wurtt3"/>
** [[Order of the Red Eagle|Knight of the Red Eagle]], 3rd Class, ''22 April 1883'';<ref name="prus1"/> 2nd Class;<ref name="wurtt4">{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|year=1889|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082046024&view=1up&seq=305&skin=2021|chapter=Departement des Kriegswefens|page=267|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Landesamt|language=German}}</ref> Grand Cross<ref name="wurtt3">{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|year=1907|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=720NAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA18|chapter=Hofstaat Hofdomanenkammer|page=18|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Landesamt|language=German}}</ref>
** Knight of the [[Order of the Crown (Prussia)|Royal Crown Order]], 2nd Class, ''23 September 1885'';<ref name="prus1"/> 1st Class
** [[Order of the Black Eagle|Knight of the Black Eagle]], ''10 November 1908''
** [[Pour le Mérite]] for Arts and Sciences, ''22 May 1910''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lehmann|first1=Gustaf|title=Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1812–1913|year=1913|trans-title=The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite|lang=de|url=https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN135808618|page=596|volume=2|location=Berlin|publisher=[[E.S. Mittler & Sohn|Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn]]}}</ref>
* {{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: [[Order of the White Falcon|Commander of the White Falcon]], ''1883''<ref>{{citation|title=Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach|year=1896|chapter=Großherzogliche Hausorden|page=[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00285420/Staatshandbuch_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_1896_0077.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_01121264 65]|location=Weimar|publisher=Böhlau|language=German}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Saxony}}:<ref name="rangliste"/>
** Knight of the [[Albert Order]], 1st Class with War Decoration, ''1871''; Grand Cross, ''1889''<ref>{{cite book|author=Sachsen|title=Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901|year=1901|publisher=Heinrich|chapter=Königlich Orden|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030492006&view=1up&seq=236&skin=2021 194], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030492006&view=1up&seq=240&skin=2021 198]|location=Dresden|language=German|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
** [[Order of the Rue Crown|Knight of the Rue Crown]]
* {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} {{flagicon|Kingdom of Hungary}} [[Austria-Hungary]]:<ref>{{citation|chapter-url=https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1916&page=71&size=45|chapter=Ritter-Orden |title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie|date=1916|pages=[https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1916&page=59&size=45 32], [https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1916&size=45&page=141 114], [https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1916&size=45&page=252 225]|location=Vienna|publisher=Druck und Verlag der K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei}}</ref>
** [[Order of the Iron Crown (Austria)|Knight of the Iron Crown]], 3rd Class, ''1867''
** Decoration of Honour for Arts and Sciences, ''1913''
** Officer of the [[Order of Franz Joseph]], ''1913''
* {{flag|Denmark}}: [[Order of the Dannebrog|Grand Cross of the Dannebrog]], ''18 November 1888''<ref>{{cite book |year=1912 |orig-year=1st pub.:1801 |editor1-last=Bille-Hansen |editor1-first=A. C. |editor2-last=Holck |editor2-first=Harald |title=Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1912 |trans-title=State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1912 |url=https://slaegtsbibliotek.dk/918019.pdf#page=48 |format=PDF |series=Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender |language=da |location=Copenhagen |publisher=J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri |pages=17–18 |via={{interlanguage link|DIS Danmark|da}} }}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present).svg}} [[Second French Empire|French Empire]]: Knight of the [[Legion of Honour]]<ref name="rangliste"/><ref name="wurtt5">{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|year=1869|chapter=Militar-Etat|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=awdTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA89|page=89|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Landesamt|language=German}}</ref>
* {{flag|Russian Empire|1858}}:<ref name="rangliste"/>
** [[Order of St. Vladimir|Knight of St. Vladimir]], 4th Class;<ref name="wurtt5"/> 3rd Class
** [[Order of St. Anna|Knight of St. Anna]], 2nd Class in Brilliants; 1st Class
** [[Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)|Knight of the White Eagle]]
}}

==See also==
* [[Airship]]
* [[Zeppelin]]
* [[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]]
* [[Timeline of hydrogen technologies]]
* [[German inventors and discoverers]]
* [[David Schwarz (aviation inventor)]]
* [[Cepelinai]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* <cite id=Dooley>Dooley, Sean C. 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080625092823/http://biblion.epfl.ch/EPFL/theses/2004/2986/EPFL_TH2986_screen.pdf The Development of Material-Adapted Structural Form] – [https://web.archive.org/web/20080625092752/http://biblion.epfl.ch/EPFL/theses/2004/2986/EPFL_TH2986_app_screen.pdf Part II: Appendices]. THÈSE NO 2986 (2004), [[École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne]]</cite>
* <cite id=Eckener>Eckener, Hugo. 1938. ''Count Zeppelin: The Man and His Work'', translated by Leigh Fanell, London &ndash; Massie Publishing Company, Ltd. &ndash; {{ASIN|B00085KPWK}} ([http://spot.colorado.edu/~dziadeck/airship/schwartz.htm online extract pp. 155–157, 210–211])</cite>
* <cite id=Lehmann>[[Ernst A. Lehmann|Lehmann, Ernst A.]]; Mingos, Howard. 1927. The Zeppelins. The Development of the Airship, with the Story of the Zeppelin Air Raids in the World War.</cite> [https://web.archive.org/web/20080930164933/http://www.hydrogencommerce.com/zepplins/zeppelin1.htm Chapter I – German Airships Prepare for War]
* Robinson, Douglas H. ''Giants in the Sky'' Henley-on-Thames: Foulis, 1973. {{ISBN|0854291458}}
* <cite id=Vissering>Vissering, Harry. 1922. [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32570/32570-h/32570-h.htm Zeppelin: The Story of a Great Achievement]</cite>

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|first=Alexander|last=Vömel|title=Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin – Ein Mann der Tat|date=1909–1933}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Gilman|first1=Rhoda R.|title=Zeppelin in Minnesota: Study in Fact and Fable|journal=Minnesota History|date=1965|volume=39|issue=7|pages=278–285 |url=http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/39/v39i07p278-285.pdf}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Dunn|first1=Maria Bach|title=Zeppelin in Minnesota: The Counts Own Story|journal=Minnesota History|date=1967|volume=40 |pages=265–278|url=http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/40/v40i06p265-278.pdf}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{Americana Poster|Zeppelin, Ferdinand|Ferdinand von Zeppelin}}
* {{DNB portal|118636545}}
* {{cite web |title=Biographie: Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, 1838–1917 |url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/ZeppelinFerdinand/index.html |publisher=[[Deutsches Historisches Museum|Deutschen Historischen Museums]] |language=de |access-date=12 September 2009}}
* {{cite web |author=Michael "Walter" Walz |title=Stuttgart im Bild – Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin |url=http://www.stuttgart-im-bild.de/html/ferdinand_graf_von_zeppelin.html |publisher=[[Deutsches Historisches Museum|Deutschen Historischen Museums]] |language=de |access-date=12 September 2009}} (Gravestone in Stuttgart, biography and images)
* {{PM20|FID=pe/042352}}

{{Lake Constance|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeppelin, Ferdinand von}}
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1917 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century German people]]
[[Category:German airship aviators]]
[[Category:German aviation pioneers]]
[[Category:German balloonists]]
[[Category:Airship designers]]
[[Category:German company founders]]
[[Category:20th-century German businesspeople]]
[[Category:German industrialists]]
[[Category:German businesspeople in aerospace]]
[[Category:People from Konstanz]]
[[Category:People from the Grand Duchy of Baden]]
[[Category:German people of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]]
[[Category:Counts in Germany]]
[[Category:Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords]]
[[Category:Generals of Cavalry of Württemberg]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Franz Joseph]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog]]
[[Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class]]
[[Category:Zeppelin family]]