Ferdinand von Zeppelin

Ferdinand von Zeppelin (German: Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin; (July 8. 1838 -- March 8, 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name became synonymous with airships and dominated long-distance flight until the 1930s. A couple of airships named for him: There were even some U.S. postage stamps showing the airships: These were issued by the post office in 1930 for mail to be carried aboard the airships from the United States to Germany. Of course what most folks remember about these airships is the Hindenburg disaster. On May 6, 1937, the German airship Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while attempting to land at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, resulting in 36 deaths and marking the end of commercial airship travel. The airship had remarkable refinements for its passengers. Here are some photos: The ship even had a piano: To meet the strict weight limits of a lighter-than-ai...