Anthony Fokker

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.