Despite his successes, Santos-Dumont struggled with mental illness during the latter stages of his life.
In 1906, he completed the first public flight in Europe when he made a short hop in a powered, box-kite-style biplane called the “14-bis.” He then returned in 1909 with the “Demoiselle” (“Dragonfly”), a lightweight, front-propeller plane whose design was widely copied. Despite his successes, Santos-Dumont struggled with mental illness during the latter stages of his life. He was reportedly horrified at seeing airplanes used as killing machines in World War I, and following several years of sanitarium visits, he committed suicide in 1932. Though little known in the United States, he’s considered a national hero in his native Brazil, where he is often credited as the inventor of the powered airplane.