View source for George Valentin Bibescu

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person 
| name= George Valentin Bibescu
| image= Prince George Valentin Bibescu in 1911.jpg
| caption= George Valentin Bibescu, 1911
| birth_name= George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu
| birth_date= {{birth date|1880|03|22|df=y}}
| birth_place= [[Bucharest]], Romania
| death_date= {{Death date and age|1941|07|02|1880|03|22|df=y}}
| death_place= Bucharest, Romania
| nationality= Romanian 
| occupation= Aviation pioneer and automobile enthusiast
| spouse={{marriage|[[Marthe Bibesco]]|1902}}
| children=Valentina
| parents= George [[Bibescu]]<br/>[[Valentine de Riquet de Caraman]]
}}
'''George III Valentin, Prince Bibescu''' ({{IPA|ro|ˈdʒe̯ordʒe valenˈtin biˈbesku}}; 22 March 1880 – 2 July 1941) was a [[Romania]]n early aviation pioneer and [[automobile]] enthusiast.

==Family==
His parents were Prince George [[Bibescu]] (1834–1902; son of [[Gheorghe Bibescu]]) and [[Valentine de Riquet de Caraman]].<ref>[http://en.rodovid.org/wk/Person:619732 George Valentin Bibescu]. Rodovid family tree portal. En.rodovid.org. Retrieved on 28 July 2014.</ref> In 1902, he married Marthe Lucie [[Lahovary]] (1886–1973), who took the name [[Marthe Bibesco]]. They had one daughter, Valentina, born 27 August 1903.  In 1912, he gave his wife as a present the [[Mogoșoaia Palace]].

==Automobiles==
Bibescu, together with the [[engineer]] and [[explorer]] [[Bazil Assan]] and the [[baron]] [[Barbu Bellu]], was the first person to bring an automobile to Romania. The first two requested one from the brand [[FN Herstal]]. Since Bibescu did not have the time to register it, in 1900, Assan became the first person in the country to receive a [[Vehicle registration plate]], 1B. However, Bibescu did not want to allow this, so the Capital Prefecture made an exception and gave him in 1901 the plate 0B, making him the owner of the first plate in Romania.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://a1.ro/premium/scandalul-placutelor-de-la-bibescu-a-plecat-totul-el-a-avut-primul-numar-preferential-din-romania-0-prefectura-capitalei-ia-dat-prin-spate-bucata-de-metal-id788973.html|title=Scandalul plăcuțelor. De la Bibescu a plecat totul! El a avut primul număr preferențial din România: "0". Prefectura Capitalei i-a dat "prin spate" bucata de metal|newspaper=[[Antena 1 (Romania)|Antena 1]]|date=31 July 2018|language=ro}}</ref>

==Aviation==
Bibescu had an early interest in aviation; he flew a balloon named "Romania" brought from France 1905. Later he tried to teach himself how to fly a [[Voisin (aircraft)|Voisin]] airplane, also brought from France, but without success. After [[Louis Blériot]]'s demonstration flights in Bucharest on 18 October 1909 (organized at the invitation of {{ill|Romanian Automobile Club|ro|Automobil Clubul Român}}, of which he was president<ref>[http://www.stelian-tanase.ro/bleriot-la-bucuresti/ Bleriot la Bucureşti]. Stelian-tanase.ro (16 June 2012). Retrieved on 28 July 2014.</ref>), Bibescu went to France and enrolled in Blériot's school in [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]]. On 6 January 1910 he was awarded [[Aéro-Club de France]] pilot's license number 20.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1911/1911%20-%200086.html 354 Aero-Club de France Pilot Aviators] [[Flight International|''Flight'']], 4 February 1911, p.88.</ref> 
After returning from France, Bibescu organized the [[Cotroceni Piloting School]] in [[Bucharest]] where {{ill|Mircea Zorileanu|ro|Mircea Zorileanu}} and [[Nicolae Capșa]] were licensed. On 5 May 1912, he founded the Romanian National Aeronautic League.

He was instrumental in founding the [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]] (FAI).  Between 1927 and 1930, he was vice-president, and between 1930 and 1941 president of the [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|FAI]].

He was co-founder of the Romanian Automobile Club (1901), and of the [[Romanian Olympic Committee]] (1914). Romania was among the first 6 nations in the world to organize car races. In 1904, he won the Bucharest-[[Giurgiu]]-Bucharest [[auto racing|auto race]], with an average hourly speed of 66&nbsp;km/h.  In 1905, motorists George Valentin Bibescu, Leon Leonida, and Mihai Ferekide, accompanied by Marthe Bibesco, Maria Ferekide, and Claude Anet, made the first automobile trip to [[Persia]], leaving from [[Galați]] and reaching [[Ispahan]]. The trip is described by the French writer [[Claude Anet]] in his book, "La Perse en automobile à travers la Russie et le Caucase (Les Roses d'Ispahan)".

George Bibescu is buried in the small, white 1688 church on the grounds of Mogoșoaia Palace in Romania.
<!--The following can be found in much more detail in the Marthe Bibesco article, where it is much more relevant. 
During [[World War II]] the Nazis expelled Marthe and she fled by train to [[Paris]]. Valentina stayed to work as a nurse in the hospitals. After the Soviets drove out the Nazis, Valentine was imprisoned in the Soviet [[Gulag]] and it took her mother ten years to obtain her release.-->

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:George-Valentin Bibescu École d'aviation de Pau, 1910 (Agence Meurisse).jpg|Bibescu training at the Pau Flying School (Blériot Aéronautique).
File:Bibescu 3rd from left.jpg|Bibescu 3rd from left on the side of a Bleriot XI airplane. 
File:Blériot 1913 Bulgaria.jpg|Bibescu with a Blériot plane of the Romanian military during the [[Second Balkan War]]. To the left looking at the plane is [[Aurel Vlaicu]].
File:Stamps of Romania, 2004-025.jpg|Bibescu on a 2004 Romanian stamp
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Commons}}

* [[History of aviation]]
* [[List of aviation pioneers]]
* [[Romanian Air Force]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.earlyaviators.com/ebibescu.htm "George Valentin Bibescu 1880–1941"], at EarlyAviators
* {{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20020408094024/http://www.airclub.rdsnet.ro/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=16 "George Valentin Bibescu, first Romanian airman"], Aeroclubul României
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224041157/http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/4582/sport.htm |date=24 February 2008 |title="First races" }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibescu, George}}
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Aviation pioneers]]
[[Category:Bibescu family|George]]
[[Category:Nobility from Bucharest]]
[[Category:Romanian aviators]]
[[Category:Princes Bibescu]]
[[Category:Aviation history of Romania]]
[[Category:Romanian International Olympic Committee members]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee]]