View source for Geoffrey de Havilland

{{Short description|English aircraft engineer (1882–1965)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Family name hatnote|de Havilland|Havilland}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific-prefix   = [[Sir]]
| name               = Geoffrey de Havilland
| honorific-suffix   = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OM|CBE|AFC|RDI|FRAeS}}
| image              = De Havilland, Geoffry Sir Oswald.jpg
| caption            = Painting of de Havilland
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1882|07|27|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[High Wycombe]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1965|05|21|1882|07|27|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Watford]], [[Hertfordshire]], England
| resting_place      = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| nationality        = [[British nationality law|British]]
| education          = [[Crystal Palace School|Crystal Palace School of Engineering]]
| occupation         = Aircraft engineer
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Louise Thomas|1909|1949|end=died}}
* {{marriage|Joan Mary Frith<br>|1951}}
}}
| children           = 3 sons, including [[Geoffrey de Havilland Jr.|Geoffrey Jr.]] and [[John de Havilland (pilot)|John]]
| relatives          = [[Hereward de Havilland]] (brother)<br>[[Dame]] [[Olivia de Havilland]] (cousin)<br>[[Joan Fontaine]] (cousin)
| module             = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
   |nickname=
   |allegiance= {{flag|United Kingdom}}
   |branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
   |serviceyears= 1912–1919
   |rank= Captain
   |unit=[[Royal Flying Corps]]
   |commands=
   |battles=[[First World War]]
   |awards=[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]] (AFC)<br>Officer of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE)
   |relations=
   |signature = }}
}}

'''Sir Geoffrey de Havilland''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|OM|CBE|AFC|RDI|FRAeS|commas=on|size=small}} (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English [[aviation pioneer]] and [[aerospace engineer]] who founded the aircraft company [[de Havilland]]. The company produced the [[de Havilland Mosquito|Mosquito]], which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built,<ref name="ODNB">Davenport-Hines, Richard. "Havilland, Sir Geoffrey de (1882–1965)." ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''. Ed. H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]], 2004. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32769 Oxford University].</ref> and his [[de Havilland Comet|Comet]] was the first [[jet airliner]] to go into production.

== Early life ==
Born at Magdala House, Terriers, [[High Wycombe]], [[Buckinghamshire]], de Havilland was the second son of [[The Reverend]] Charles de Havilland (1854–1920) and his first wife, Alice Jeannette (née Saunders; 1854–1911).<ref name="ODNB"/> He was educated at [[King Edward VI College, Nuneaton|Nuneaton Grammar School]], [[St Edward's School, Oxford]] and the [[Crystal Palace School|Crystal Palace School of Engineering]] (from 1900 to 1903).

Upon graduating from engineering training, de Havilland pursued a career in [[automotive engineering]], building cars and motorcycles. He took an apprenticeship with engine manufacturers [[Willans & Robinson]] of [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]], after which he worked as a draughtsman for [[Wolseley Motors#The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited|The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited]] in [[Birmingham]], a job from which he resigned after a year.<ref name="ODNB"/> He then spent two years working in the design office of Motor Omnibus Construction Company Limited in [[Walthamstow]]. While there he designed his first aero engine and had the first prototype made by [[de Havilland Iris|Iris Motor Company]] of [[Willesden]].

He married in 1909 and almost immediately embarked on the career of designing, building and flying aircraft to which he devoted the rest of his life.

== Aviation career ==
{{Main|de Havilland}}
[[File:GeoffreyDeHavillandBluePlaque.jpg|thumb|Blue plaque, 32 Baron's Court Road, [[Barons Court]], London]]
[[File:First flying and administrative officers of the Royal Flying Corps RAE-O790.jpg|thumb|de Havilland (far left), with fellow officers of the RFC c1913]]

Built with money borrowed from his maternal grandfather,<ref name="ODNB"/> de Havilland's [[de Havilland Biplane No. 1|first aircraft]] took two years to complete. Unfortunately, he crashed it during its first very short flight at Seven Barrows near [[Litchfield, Hampshire]] in December 1909.<ref>''Roots in the Sky – A History of British Aerospace Aircraft'', Oliver Tapper (1980), {{ISBN|061700323 8}}; pp. 7–8. "de Havilland first became airborne in December 1909 but his biplane broke up as soon as it left the ground and crashed immediately, the only salvable item being the engine which itself had been designed and built by de Havilland."</ref> He built a fresh biplane, making his first flight in it from a meadow near [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]] in September 1910.<ref>''Roots in the Sky'', p. 8</ref> A memorial plaque presently marks the event. Subsequent designs were even more successful: in 1912 he established a new British altitude record of 10,500 feet (3,200&nbsp;m) in an aircraft of his design, the [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2|B.E.2]]. Geoffrey was the designer and his brother Hereward was the test pilot.

In December 1910, de Havilland joined HM Balloon Factory at [[Farnborough Airfield|Farnborough]], which was to become the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment|Royal Aircraft Factory]]. He sold his second aeroplane (which he had used to teach himself to fly) to his new employer for £400. It became the [[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.1|F.E.1]], the first aircraft to bear an official Royal Aircraft Factory designation. For the next three years, de Havilland designed, or participated in the design of, a number of experimental types at the "Factory". He was commissioned a second lieutenant (on probation) in the [[Royal Flying Corps]] on 2 September 1912,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28653|supp=|page=7586|date=15 October 1912}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28665|supp=|page=8582|date=22 November 1912}}</ref> was appointed a reserve officer in the RFC on 24 November and was confirmed in his rank on 25 December.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28823|supp=|page=3295|date=21 April 1914}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28674|supp=|page=9786|date=24 December 1912}}</ref>

In December 1913, de Havilland was appointed an inspector of aircraft for the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28790|supp=|page=183|date=6 January 1914}}</ref> Unhappy at leaving design work, in May 1914 he was recruited to become the chief designer at [[Airco]], in [[Hendon]]. He designed many aircraft for Airco, all designated by his initials, [[List of de Havilland aircraft|DH]]. Large numbers of de Havilland-designed aircraft were used during the [[World War I|First World War]], flown by the [[Royal Flying Corps]]/[[Royal Air Force]]. De Havilland continued to serve in the RFC during the war.

On 5 August 1914, he was promoted to lieutenant and appointed a flying officer in the RFC from the same date.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28895|supp=|page=7175|date=8 September 1914}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29018|supp=y|page=11038|date=22 December 1914}}</ref> He was briefly stationed in Montrose on the east coast of Scotland as an officer on war duty. Flying a [[Blériot Aéronautique|Blériot]], he was to protect British shipping from German U-boats.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hare |first1=Paul |title=Britain's Forgotten Fighters of the First World War |date=2014 |publisher=Fonthill |location=Stroud UK |isbn=978-1781551974 |pages=140}}</ref> After a few weeks, he was released from this duty and returned to Airco. However, he nominally remained in the service until the end of the war.<ref>''Sky Fever. The autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland'', Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1961), {{ISBN|1-84037-148-X}}; p. 96.</ref> On 30 April 1916, he was promoted to captain and appointed a flight commander.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29620|supp=y|page=5185|date=9 June 1916}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29618|supp=|page=5741|date=9 June 1916}}</ref>

His employer, [[Airco]], was bought in early 1920 by armaments group [[Birmingham Small Arms Company]] but discovering it was less than worthless BSA shut down Airco in July 1920.<ref>The Aircraft "Deal", BSA company meeting. ''The Times'', Tuesday, 12 Apr 1921; p. 17; Issue 42692</ref> With the help of former Airco owner [[George Holt Thomas]] he formed [[de Havilland|de Havilland Aircraft Company]] employing some former colleagues. Pleased and impressed by the aircraft they built for him, [[Alan Samuel Butler|Alan Butler]], thereafter company chairman, provided the capital to buy premises and then the airfield at [[Stag Lane Aerodrome]], [[Edgware]], where he and his colleagues designed and built a large number of aircraft, including the ''[[de Havilland Moth|Moth]]'' family. One of his roles was as a test pilot for the company's aircraft.

In 1928, the subsidiary company [[De Havilland Canada]] was created to build Moth aircraft in North America. When World War II arrived, production expanded to augment British aircraft factories, without any possible threat from enemy bombers. After the Second World War, [[De Havilland Canada]] went on to design and produce a number of indigenous types,<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/canada/de-havilland.htm GlobalSecurity.org]</ref> some of which proved highly successful.

In 1933, the company moved to [[Hatfield Aerodrome]] in [[Hertfordshire]].

In 1944, he bought out his friend and engine designer [[Frank Halford]]s's consultancy firm, forming the [[de Havilland Engine Company]] with Halford as the head. Halford had previously designed a number of engines for de Havilland, including the [[de Havilland Gipsy]] and [[de Havilland Gipsy Major]]. Halford's first gas turbine design entered production as the [[de Havilland Goblin]] powering de Havilland's first jet, the [[de Havilland Vampire|Vampire]].

De Havilland controlled the company until it was bought by the [[Hawker Siddeley Company]] in 1960. His financial backer, [[Alan Samuel Butler|Alan Butler]], remained a very involved chairman until he retired in 1950.

== Retirement and death ==
[[File:Geoffrey de Havilland statue Hatfield.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue at the [[University of Hertfordshire]], Hatfield]]

He lived at 'Longcote' on Tanglewood Close in [[Stanmore]].<ref>''Liverpool Daily Post'' Monday 23 June 1947, page 4</ref>

De Havilland retired from active involvement in his company in 1955, though remaining as president. He continued flying up to the age of 70 making his final flight in a DH85 Leopard Moth, G-ACMA.<ref name="ODNB"/> He died aged 82, of a [[cerebral haemorrhage]], on 21 May 1965 at [[Watford Peace Memorial Hospital]], Hertfordshire.

== Honours ==

De Havilland was made an [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (Military Division) in the [[1918 Birthday Honours]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30730|supp=y|page=6702|date=4 June 1918}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31297|supp=y|page=4992|date=15 April 1919}}</ref> and was honoured with a [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (Civil Division) in the [[1934 Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34056|supp=|page=3564|date=1 June 1934}}</ref> He was decorated with the [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]] (AFC) in the [[1919 New Year Honours]], in recognition of his service in the [[World War I|First World War]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31098|supp=y|page=97|date=31 December 1918}}</ref> He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[1944 New Year Honours]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36309|supp=y|page=2|date=31 December 1943}}</ref> and was invested with his knighthood by [[George VI]] at [[Buckingham Palace]] on 15 February 1944.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=36393|supp=|page=911|date=22 February 1944}}</ref> He was appointed to the [[Order of Merit]] (OM) in November 1962.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=42840|supp=|page=9153|date=23 November 1962}}</ref> He received numerous national and international gold and silver medals and honorary fellowships of learned and engineering societies, including the Gold Medal of the [http://royalaeroclub.co.uk/medals-and-awards.php?title=&id=54 Royal Aero Club] in 1947 and again in 1963.

In 1972 de Havilland 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>

A statue of de Havilland was erected in July 1997 near the entrance to the College Lane campus of the [[University of Hertfordshire]] in [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire|Hatfield]]. He was a benefactor of the university, having given land adjoining the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]] to [[Hertfordshire County Council]] in 1951 for its precursor, the Hatfield Technical College. The statue was unveiled by [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|the Duke of Edinburgh]]. The De Havilland campus (also known as De Hav) at the university was also named in his honour.

== Family ==
[[File:De-havilland-first-flight-memorial-stone.jpg|thumb|right|250px|De Havilland Memorial Stone near Seven Barrows Field and [[Beacon Hill, Burghclere, Hampshire|Beacon Hill]] from A34]]
The actresses [[Olivia de Havilland]] and [[Joan Fontaine]] were de Havilland's first cousins; his father, Charles, and their father, [[Walter de Havilland|Walter]], were half-brothers. His younger brother, [[Hereward de Havilland]], was also a noted pioneer aviator and test pilot. Sir Anthony de Havilland (born 1969) is a direct descendent of James de Havilland (1553–1613) who migrated from Guernsey to Poole in Dorset and was granted the trade license for Poole.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In 1909, Geoffrey de Havilland married Louise Thomas, who had formerly been [[governess]] to de Havilland's sisters. They had three sons, Peter, Geoffrey and John. Two of the sons died as test pilots in de Havilland aircraft. His youngest son, [[John de Havilland (pilot)|John]], died in an air collision involving two Mosquitoes in the vicinity of [[St Albans]] in 1943.

[[Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr.|Geoffrey Jr]] carried out the first flights of the Mosquito and [[de Havilland Vampire|Vampire]] and was killed in 1946 flying the jet-powered [[de Havilland DH 108|DH 108 Swallow]] while diving at or near the [[speed of sound]]. Louise suffered a nervous breakdown following these deaths and died in 1949. De Havilland remarried in 1951, to Joan Mary Frith (1900&ndash;1974). They remained married until his death.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

{{chart top|de Havilland family tree}}
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | | | |F|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|7}}

{{Tree chart
| | |AJ|V|RCH| | | | | | | | | | | | | |P4|V|P5
|AJ=Alice Jeannette (née Saunders)<br />1854–1911
|P4=[[Walter de Havilland]]<br />1872–1968
|P5=[[Lilian Fontaine|Lilian Fontaine (Ruse)]]<br />1886–1975
|RCH=Rev. Charles de Havilland<br />1854–1920
|boxstyle_P4=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_RCH=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P5=background:pink;
|boxstyle_AJ=background:pink;
}}

{{Tree chart| |,|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|V|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | |)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | }}

{{Tree chart
|P24| |P22|V|P21|-|P23| |P20| |P2|V|P1|V|P3| |P6|V|P9
|P1=[[Olivia de Havilland|Olivia Mary de Havilland]]<br />1916–2020
|P2=[[Marcus Goodrich]]<br />1897–1991
|P3=Pierre Galante<br />1909-1998
|P6=[[Joan Fontaine|Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland]]<br />1917–2013
|P9=[[William Dozier|William McElroy Dozier]]<br />1908–1991
|P20=[[Hereward de Havilland]]<br />1894–1976
|P21=Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland<br />1882–1965
|P22=Louise Thomas<br />-1949
|P23=Joan Mary Frith<br />1900–1974
|P24=Ivon Molesworth Charles Jordan de Havilland<br />1879–1905
|boxstyle_P1=background:pink;
|boxstyle_P21=color:yellow; background-color: green;
|boxstyle_P3=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P6=background:pink;
|boxstyle_P22=background:pink;
|boxstyle_P23=background:pink;
|boxstyle_P9=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P2=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P20=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P24=background:lightblue;
}}

{{Tree chart| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | |! | | | |!| | | | | | | |!}}

{{Tree chart
| | |P30| |P31| |P32| | | | | | | | | |P7 | |P8| | | | | |P10
|P7=Benjamin Goodrich<br />1949–1991
|P8=Gisèle Galante<br />1956–
|P10=Deborah Leslie<br />1949–
|P30=Peter Jason de Havilland<br />1913–1977
|P31=[[Geoffrey de Havilland Jr.]]<br />1910–1946
|P32=[[John de Havilland (pilot)|John de Havilland]]<br />1918–1943
|boxstyle_P7=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P8=background:pink;
|boxstyle_P10=background:pink;
|boxstyle_P30=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P31=background:lightblue;
|boxstyle_P32=background:lightblue;
}}

{{Tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

== Posthumous publication ==

In 1975, de Havilland's 1961 [[autobiography]], ''Sky Fever'', was republished by Peter and Anne de Havilland. It was originally published by Hamish Hamilton.

== See also ==

* [[de Havilland Aircraft Museum]], London Colney, Hertfordshire

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* De Havilland, Geoffrey. ''Sky Fever: The Autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press Ltd., 1999. {{ISBN|1-84037-148-X}}
* Smith, Ron. ''British Built Aircraft: Greater London''. Stroud, UK: Tempus Publishing, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7524-2770-9}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/people/geoffery-de-havilland Geoffrey de Havilland] by BAE Systems
*[http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp56440 Sir Geoffrey De Havilland (1882–1965), Aircraft designer and manufacturer: Sitter in 11 portraits]

{{de Havilland aircraft}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Havilland, Geoffrey}}
[[Category:1882 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:De Havilland]]
[[Category:De Havilland family|Geoffrey]]
[[Category:English aerospace engineers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society]]
[[Category:Harmon Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Merit]]
[[Category:People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford]]
[[Category:People from High Wycombe]]
[[Category:People from Fulham]]
[[Category:People from Stanmore]]
[[Category:History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal winners]]
[[Category:Royal Flying Corps officers]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham]]
[[Category:Royal Designers for Industry]]