Gossamer Albatross was the first man-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel on 12 June 1979. It was made of carbon fibre covered by Mylar and weighed only about 220 pounds for the Channel crossing. Invented by Paul McReady and flown by Bryan Allen.
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The first balloon to cross the English Channel, did so over 100 years before the first airplane. On 7 January 1785 Jean-Pierre Francois Blanchard and John Jeffries took 2 1/2 hours to cross the Channel in a hydrogen filled balloon.
The first flight across the English Channel was completed by Louis Bleriot in 1909. More information about Bleriot and his other accomplishments can be found on Wikipedia.
The last Ice Age. Some say 1693, but that's wishful thinking; It's not possible.
April of l9l2, somewhat oddly this successful flight overlapped with the ( Titanic) disaster occurring on April l4-l5 of that year.
In historic times, the Thames and the Rhine were the same river, and there was no English Channel. So people crossed over to England on foot, without any idea of invasion. After the English Channel started to widen, the first known invaders were the Romans, followed by the Angles and Jutes, then the Saxons. The Norman conquest of 1066 is the last officially-recognised invasion. But events after 1950, continuing to the present day, will eventually be recognised as an invasion in the full sense.
The battle of agincourt English victory over French during Hundred Years War under Henry V of England
The English monarchy has changed drastically over the centuries. In previous centuries, the king or queen ruled absolutely and had authority over the life and death of all their citizens. Currently, the English monarch is simply a figurehead. The real business of running the country happens in parliament.