# Blériot crosses English Channel by airplane (1909)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1909-bleriot-crosses-english-channel-by-airplane
Location: Calais to Dover

Louis Blériot’s flight highlighted rapid advances in French aviation. Within the broader Third Republic period, The Third Republic survived war, the Commune, constitutional crises and fierce ideological conflict. It expanded mass schooling and empire, faced the Dreyfus Affair, fought World War I and entered the troubled interwar era. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Armand Fallières (President of the French Republic). Blériot crosses English Channel by airplane mattered because it changed material life, state capacity, economic networks or France’s ability to project power. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Blériot crosses English Channel by airplane mattered because it changed material life, state capacity, economic networks or France’s ability to project power.

Ruler at the time: [Armand Fallières](https://history-france.com/rulers/armand-fallieres)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Blériot crosses English Channel by airplane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Bl%C3%A9riot+crosses+English+Channel+by+airplane&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Blériot crosses English Channel by airplane](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Bl%C3%A9riot+crosses+English+Channel+by+airplane)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)