K- 594
OTTO LILIENTHAL
1941, Cast Bronze Commemorative Medallion, 97.3mm., 249.0g., Rim-punched, K•GœTz.
Obverse: ¾ Bust, left. Inscription: “Otto Lilienthal + 9. August 1896”
Reverse: Lilienthal on flying glider. Inscription: “The first flight by men of the greatest teacher.”
Otto Lilienthal was a German engineer and one of the pioneers of aviation (1848-1896). He and his brother Gustav built full-scale gliders with linen covered wings. From a hill 100 feet high near Rhinow in Brandenburg he made his first successful flight of 50 feet in 1891. He died in the year 1896 from a broken back which resulted when a gust of wind caught his glider and he fell to the ground from fifty feet high.