The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Blériot, Louis
(lw blr´) (KEY) , 18721936, French aviator and inventor. He devoted the fortune acquired by his invention of an automobile searchlight to the invention and construction of monoplanes. After making several short-distance records, he was the first to cross (July 25, 1909) the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine.