@publius that's a rather obscure comment about your guy Santos-Dumont @jalefkowit
@publius
obscure for the reasons you gave... many (most?) people haven't heard of the guy or the history you relate.
@jalefkowit
Americans in the narrow sense of the USA? No, most haven't heard of him.
The literally billions of people who live from the Mexican border down to Patagonia, and in Europe? Yes!
@2ck @jalefkowit
What's obscure about it?
Because of the Langley-Curtis shenanigans, the Smithsonian, to get the Flyer, had to essentially agree to a "gag order" relating to other claimants to first flight, and US educational institutions have followed suit.
Hence, Alberto Santos-Dumont, who holds the FAI record (meaning he did it in Paris in front of judges) for first powered controlled heavier-than-air flight is virtually never mentioned in the USA. In Brazil he's a national hero.