INVENTOR

Wan Hu

1510 - 1500

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Wan Hu is a legendary Chinese official described in modern sources as possibly the first man to attempt to use a rocket to launch into outer space. Possibly depicted as the "world's first astronaut" and "the first martyr in man's struggle to achieve space flight", NASA named the crater Wan-Hoo on the far side of the Moon after him. According to some Chinese sources, "Wan Hu" was a title granted to him by the imperial court during the early Ming dynasty, and his real name was Tao Chengdao. As a Ming official, he was interested in technological innovation, particularly concerning rockets. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Wan Hu is the 244th most popular inventor (up from 261st in 2019), the 3,303rd most popular biography from France (up from 3,546th in 2019) and the 30th most popular French Inventor.

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Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Wan Hu ranks 244 out of 426. Before him are Tivadar Puskás, Robert Whitehead, Aimo Lahti, Henry Maudslay, Alexander Parkes, and John Kemp Starley. After him are Charles Martin Hall, Georges Hébert, Ricardo Wolf, Ottó Bláthy, François Isaac de Rivaz, and Alphonse Beau de Rochas.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1510, Wan Hu ranks 32. Before him are Andrea Schiavone, Diego Ortiz, Bonaventure des Périers, Tullia d'Aragona, Ivan Fyodorov, and Ferenc Dávid. After him are Martynas Mažvydas, William Turner, Teodósio I, Duke of Braganza, Simão Rodrigues, Levina Teerlinc, and Gáspár Heltai. Among people deceased in 1500, Wan Hu ranks 15. Before him are Doukas, Ahmad ibn Mājid, Bartolomé Bermejo, John Morton, John of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne, and Maria of Serbia, Queen of Bosnia. After him are Álvaro Fernandes, and Pêro Vaz de Caminha.

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Others Deceased in 1500

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In France

Among people born in France, Wan Hu ranks 3,303 out of 6,770. Before him are Albert I, Count of Namur (1000), Bernard Lama (1963), Louis Majorelle (1859), Léon Daudet (1867), Edward Poynter (1836), and Bernard Thévenet (1948). After him are Eugène Isabey (1803), Henri Brisson (1835), Edmond Audran (1840), Étienne Pivert de Senancour (1770), Claude Allègre (1937), and Théophraste Renaudot (1586).

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Among INVENTORS In France

Among inventors born in France, Wan Hu ranks 30. Before him are Guillaume Amontons (1663), Charles Cros (1842), Émile Baudot (1845), Georges Claude (1870), Édouard Branly (1844), and Charles Xavier Thomas (1785). After him are Georges Hébert (1875), François Isaac de Rivaz (1752), Alphonse Beau de Rochas (1815), Henri Fabre (1882), Louis Lumière (1864), and Léon Gaumont (1864).

French born Inventors

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