Louis Bleriot (1872 - 1936), French aviator, engineer and inventor and the first person to cross the Channel in an aircraft. Lord Northcliffe's paper, the Daily Mail had offered a £1000 prize to whoever could perform this feat. Bleriot beat off two rivals (Hubert Latham and Charles de Lambert) to claim the prize, crossing the 22 mile distance from Calais to Dover in 37 minutes. Bleriot became an instant celebrity and this photograph shows him arriving in London with Lord Northcliffe wit