Anthony Fokker

@Aviation Pioneer, Timeline and Facts

Anthony Fokker was a Dutch innovator and industrialist who contributed greatly to the world of aviation

Apr 6, 1890

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Biography

Personal Details

  • Birthday: April 6, 1890
  • Died on: December 23, 1939
  • Nationality: Dutch
  • Famous: Aviation Pioneer, an Aircraft Manufacturer, Aviation, Engineers
  • Hobbies: Building wooden model aircraft
  • Spouses: Sophie Marie Elisabeth von Morgen, Violet Austman
  • Known as: Anton Herman Gerard Fokker

Anthony Fokker born at

Kediri, East Java

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Birth Place

Fokker married Sophie Marie Elisabeth Von Morgen on March 25th, 1919. Their marriage ended in divorce only four years later.

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Personal Life

He remarried in 1927. His second wife was Canadian Violet Eastmen. Two years later he became a widower, after his wife fell from their hotel suite window. The police report originally cited suicide, but was adjusted to read vertigo victim as per Fokker’s request.

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Personal Life

Fokker died of pneumococcal meningitis, on 23 December 1939, at the age of 49, in New York City

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Personal Life

Anthony Fokker was born on April 6th, 1890 in Kediri, the Dutch East Indies (now known as Indonesia).

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Childhood & Early Life

Herman Fokker, his father, was a Dutch coffee plantation owner in the Dutch East Indies at the time of his birth. Looking to provide his children with a Dutch upbringing, Herman moved his two children home to the Netherlands and settled in Haarlem.

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Childhood & Early Life

Fokker was disinterested in schooling during his youth. This led him to leave high school before completing his education.

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Childhood & Early Life

He showed an early interest in mechanics. He preferred making things and experimenting with different aeroplane designs.

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Childhood & Early Life

After hearing about the Wilbur Wright flight exhibitions in France, in 1908, he developed an interest in aeroplanes. He began to focus his designs on aircrafts.

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Childhood & Early Life

In 1910, he was sent to the ‘Bingen Technical School’ in Germany by his father to train as an automobile mechanic. However, he transferred to ‘Erste-deutsche Automobile-Faschschule’ in Mainz due to his interest in aircraft mechanics.

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Career

In 1910, Fokker designed and built his first plane, called ‘Die Spinne’ (The Spider), an open monoplane. Shortly after construction, the plane was destroyed when his business partner flew it into a tree.

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Career

The unfortunate destruction of his ‘Die Spinne’ aircraft led to the building of a second prototype, simply called ‘Spin.’ He used this aircraft to acquire his own pilot’s license.

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Career

On August 31, 1911, he came into limelight by flying his third version of the ‘Spin’ aircraft around the Sint-Bavokerk tower in Haarlem. The date coincided with Queen Wilhlmina’s birthday, adding to the public attraction.

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Career

With his father’s financing, he moved to Johannisthal, close to Berlin, and founded his first company called ‘Fokker Aeroplanbau.’

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Career

Fokker introduced a fighter biplane in 1916 that included synchronized machine guns. This was in reaction to the French acquiring his earlier Scout model containing one machine gun and mechanism.

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Major Works

Fokker’s D-7 plane became one of the most maneuverable fighter planes available during the First World War. It was unanimously selected by German officials for a rush production and immediate deployment.

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Major Works

Fokker’s American-based factory produced the Fokker F-VII airplane named the ‘Josephine Ford’, after Henry Ford’s granddaughter. This plane was flown over the North Pole by Lieutenant Commander Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett on May 9th, 1926.

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Major Works