12 July 1891 – Oskar Bider is born

On 12^th July 1891, Swiss aviation pioneer Oskar Bider was born in Langenbruck, canton of Basel-Land, Switzerland.

In the 1910s, Bider repeatedly appeared on the pages of aviation history. He was the first to cross the Pyrenees in heavier-than-air aircraft, made the first air mail delivery in Switzerland and became the first to cross the Alps in an aeroplane.

In addition, Bider was one of those men who created the Swiss Air Force. He enlisted shortly after the outbreak of the Great War and stayed in active service until 1919.

The Swiss aviation pioneer died on 7^th July 1919, during a farewell aerobatic display he performed at the day he was leaving the air force.

More facts and information about Oskar Bider, his aviation career and record flights, can be found in our article 7 July 1919 – death of Oskar Bider, Swiss aviation pioneer, issued in July of 2023, at 104^th anniversary of his tragic death.

Cover photo: Oskar Bider in front of the Wild WTS, CH-147 (ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv/Stiftung Luftbild Schweiz / LBS_SR02-20035 / CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)