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Daily Mail aviation prizesBetween 1907 and 1925 the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in aviation, or to the winner of an aviation race or event. The most famous prizes were the £1,000 for the first cross-channel flight awarded to Louis Blériot in 1909 and the £10,000 given in 1919 to Alcock and Brown for the first transatlantic flight between Newfoundland and Ireland. The latter prize was presented by Winston Churchill who was then Britain's Secretary of State. A few days later, both men were knighted at Buckingham Palace by King George V, for recognition of their pioneering achievement.
The prizes are credited with advancing the course of aviation during the early years, with the considerable sums offered becoming a much-coveted goal for the field's pioneers.
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Daily Mail aviation prizes1909-1910
Los Angeles, California
Credits:Wikipedia
Daily Mail Library
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Daily Mail Aviation Prize Winners1906-1930
The prizes are credited with advancing the course of aviation during the early years, with the considerable sums offered becoming a much-coveted goal for the field's pioneers.
Year announced Year awarded Prize Amount (£) Winner(s)
1906 1910 London to Manchester flight 10,000 Louis Paulhan
1907 1907 Model aeroplane competition 100 Edwin Roe, W. Howard
1908 Quarter mile out and return flight 100 Henri Farman
1908 1909 Cross-channel flight 1,000 Louis Bleriot
1909 Circular mile 1,000 John Moore-Brabazon
1910 Second cross-channel flight 100 Jacques de Lesseps
1910 1910 Best cross-country aggregate 1,000 Louis Paulhan
1910 1911 Circuit of Britain race 10,000 André Beaumont (Jean Conneau)
1912 1912 Aerial Derby cup 105 Thomas Sopwith
1913 1913 Aerial Derby cup 105 Gustav Hamel
1913, 1918 1919 Transatlantic flight 10,000 Alcock and Brown 1913 -- Circuit of Great Britain for "waterplanes" 5,000
1914 1914 Aerial Derby cup 105 W. L. Brock
1919 1919 Aerial Derby cup 210 Gerald Gathergood
1923 1923 Economy flight for motor gliders 1,000
1925 1926 Economy flight for dual-control 3,000 George Bulman (Hawker Cygnet)
light aircraft of British construction
1930 1930 Solo flight from England to Australia10,000 Amy Johnson
**In addition four "consolation" prizes were awarded. 1906 1910 London to Manchester flight 105 Claude Grahame White
1910 1911 Round-Britain flight 200 Jules Védrines
1913 1913 Round-Britain flight for British "waterplanes 1,000 Harry Hawker
1913 1919 Transatlantic flight 5,000 Harry Hawker, Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve
Credits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mail_aviation_prizes
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"Round Britain" air race in 19111911
Britian
Credits:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93UdIgU3_sA
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Northcliffe at the Wright aeroplane1909
Pau, France
Credits:Thompson, J. Lee. Northcliffe: Press Baron in Politics 1865-1922. Publisher: John Murray; 1st Edition (2000)
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Northcliffe and Oriville Wright1907
Pau, France
Credits:Taylor, S.J. The Great Outsiders; Northcliffe, Rothermere and The Daily Mail. Copyright © S.J. Taylor, 1996
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Watching Wilber Wright FlyEarly 1900s
Location unknown
Credits:http://www.flickr.com/photos The Duke Of Manchester
Wright State University
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Boat racing and HarmsworthThe British International (Harmsworth) Trophy is the Victoria Cross of powerboating. The late Alfred Harmsworth, better known as Lord Northcliffe, Britain's greatest newspaper publisher, created the Trophy in 1903. He had it designed at a cost of $5,000 and presented it to the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland as trustees. It is now in the custody of the Royal Motor Yacht Club.
The first winner of the Trophy was the Napier Racing Launch, powered with a fifty horsepower Napier engine, equipped with a three-blade propeller and driven by Miss Dorothy Levitt. It was built of steel and owned by S. F. Edge. It won the Trophy at Cork Harbor, Ireland, in 1903 at a speed of 19.3 miles an hour.
Other information about the start of this competition can be found at
http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Magazines/1980s/1980 Harmsworth Revived.pdf
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Boat racing and Harmsworth1932
Lake St. Clair
Credits:www.powerboatarchive.co.uk
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Harmsworth CupThe Harmsworth Trophy is the popular name of the historically important British International Trophy for Motorboats.
The Harmsworth TROPHY was the first annual international award for motorboat racing. Officially, it is a contest not between boats or individuals but between nations. The boats were originally to be designed and built entirely by residents of the country represented, using materials and units built wholly within that country. The rules were somewhat relaxed in 1949 and may have been relaxed further since.
It was founded by Alfred Charles William Harmsworth in 1903.
In the beginning, it was a very primitive affair, with many boats failing even to start. England won the trophy in 1903 with Dorothy Levitt driving a Napier powered, steel hulled, boat at 19.53 mph at Queenstown (now Cobh) in Cork harbour, Ireland. It was owned and entered by Selwyn Edge the owner of Napier Motors. France won in 1904. In 1907, it was won by Americans for the first time. The US and England traded it back and forth until 1920. From 1920-1933, Americans had an unbroken winning streak. Gar Wood won this race eight times as a driver and nine times as an owner between 1920 and 1933.
Time Magazine said of the 1920 race: "Many a race between shadowy contraband-carrying rumrunners and swift, searchlight playing patrol boats has been run on the narrow Detroit river. Last week 400,000 persons lined the river's edge to watch millionaires race millionaires."
The Harmsworth was reinstated in 1949 and remained in American hands until 1959. In 1959, Canadians won the award. The driver, Bob Hayward, won the Harmsworth again in 1960 and 1961. He died in another race in 1961. The Harmsworth was not run again until 1977, and continued to be run until 1986.
The trophy has been awarded sporadically from 1986 through to 2010. In 1989 it was awarded to Stefano Casiraghi, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco.
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Harmsworth Cup1930
Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom
Credits:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmsworth_Cup
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First Race for Harmsworth Cup11 July 1903
Queenstown, Maryland
Credits:http://www.lesliefield.com/
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Harmsworth Trophy Winners1903-2010
Worldwide
Trophy Winners for Harmsworth Trophy
Year/Venue/Boat/Owner/Country/Driver/Average Speed mph
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmsworth_Cup
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Motorcars and HarmsworthLord Northcliffe took an early interest in motorcars and was an avid participant in, or supporter of, many motor events as can be seen in this excerpt in a report on the 1000 Mile Trial.
In the towns people turned out in thousands to see the cars pass, and the police had to keep the streets clear for our passage. At Calcot Park, Reading, Mr. Alfred Harmsworth (now Viscount Northcliffe) gave a magnificent champagne breakfast in a marquee, and invited all those taking part in the tour to partake of his hospitality.
1904 HARMSWORTH, Alfred C., J.P. Besides being one of the most expert motorists, is the proprietor of the Daily Mail. The cars he owns are: a 60 h.p. and a 40 h.p. Mercedes, a 10 h.p. Panhard, a 12 h.p. Serpollet, a 28 h.p, Mercedes, a Lohner Porsche, a Columbia Electric phaeton, an electric brougham, and a Napier. He considers 120 miles a good average day's spin for a motor-car. He has toured many thousands of miles in this country, on the Continent, and in America, and considers his complete immunity from accident to be a clue to his thorough knowledge of the mechanism of the cars he has driven.
He holds that a motor, in the hands of a skilful and careful driver, is unrivalled as a means of locomotion, but in the hands of an unskilled person, is a danger to everyone. He also thinks side-slips are the most frequent causes of accidents, and presented £100 to the A.C.G.B. & l.,(Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland) of which he is an active member, for a side-slip prevention competition.
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