English Channel Timeline of Events

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English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

Timeline of Events

1120

11.25.1120

The ''White Ship'' sinks in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son of Henry I of England.

1588

5.28.1588

The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port).

5.30.1588

The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.

1785

6.15.1785

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.

1875

8.24.1875

Captain Matthew Webb became first person to swim the English Channel

1909

7.25.1909

Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from (Calais to Dover) in 37 minutes.

1912

4.16.1912

Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.

1926

8.6.1926

Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

1928

9.18.1928

Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro crossing of the English Channel.

1959

7.25.1959

SR-N1 hovercraft crosses the English Channel from Calais to Dover in just over 2 hours.

1979

6.12.1979

Bryan Allen wins the second Kremer prize for a man powered flight across the English Channel in the Gossamer Albatross.

1987

7.29.1987

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).

2008

9.26.2008

Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy becomes first person to fly a jet engine-powered wing across the English Channel.