George de Bothezat who lived between (1882 – 1940) was a Bessarabian-born (of Moldavian ethnicity) Russian American engineer, businessman, and pioneer of helicopter flight.
Education and Career
Georges de Bothezat was born in the town of Ia?i, in Romania.
After graduating from the Alexandru Ioan Cuze University in Ia?i, de Bothezat enrolled in the Engineering section at Kharkov Technological Institute and then in the Electrical-Technical Institute in Belgium.
In the early 1900s, he also studied at Universities in Berlin and Gottingen, and defended his dissertation on “Research into aeroplane stability”. He then taught at St Petersburg Polytechnic University. In 1916, he was appointed to the Technical Committee at the Military-Aviation Fleet Directorate at the Military Ministry.
In 1918, he started working on a helicopter, and later emigrated to the United States. Four years later, de Bothezat built a four-rotor helicopter weighing 1,600 kg, equipped with a 170 hp engine that could carry 3 passengers. It took off successfully, handled well, and completed over 100 flights.
De Bothezat returned to experimental helicopters in 1936, but without any significant success or achievements. However, his body of work and research have proved a highly valuable contribution. Of his achievements, his published research “Investigation into blade propellers” and “The general theory of blade screws” are particularly worthy of note.
