JORGE HENRIQUE MOLLER

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES via email from Guilherme Poggio, 5-23-05 Dear Mr. Ralph Cooper,      I'm the "Aviação Naval Brasileira" webmaster, a web page about the history of the Brazilian Naval Air Arm (only Portuguese version now). I'm always working on it and from time to time I get new information. The last thing I heard about 1 Lt Jorge Henrique Moller is that he became disappointed with his commander's lack of view about the air arm and abandoned the military service in 1915 and went to merchant navy. Regards Guilherme Poggio Editor's Note: If you read Portuguese, you can enjoy Mr. Poggio's very comprehensive and informative website by clicking on the title above. If you need the text in an English version, you will find a selection of one relevant portion immediately below.

BRAZILIAN NAVAL AVIATION from Aviação Naval Brasileira English Version of a Selected Portion "Birth of Brazilian Naval Aviation The first Brazilian military man with a Pilot's License"       After Dr. Cadaval concluded his studies and his research in Europe, Lieutenant Jorge Enrique Moller, engineer officer in charge of the engine section of the Directorate of Machines of the Navy Armory, determined to organize an aerial weapon in Brazil. In order to travel to Europe, the Lieutenant requested and obtained authorization from the minister of the Navy to study aeronautics in Europe. He attended the Farman School of Pilotage and on 29 of April of 1911, Moller received his Pilot's license, (3), becoming the first military aviator in the country to acquire it. In that same year, with the knowledge acquired in the exterior, he published "Aeronautical Military man", in which he described the state of the art of aviation in France, Italy and Switzerland, with special reference to the operation of aircraft (2). His spirit was contrasted with the indifference of the high officials of the Navy in relation to the aerial weapon. Discouraged, the lieutenant resigned his commission in 1915 and dedicated the rest of his life to coastal navegation (2)." B i b l i o g r a f i a (1) ABRANTES, A. Aerostoplano - Galeria dee Inventores Brasileiros. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 18 abr. 2005. (2) Fundação Museu da Tecnologia de São Paulo. A criação da Escola de Aviação da Marinha - A HISTÓRIA DA INDÚSTRIA E TECNOLOGIA AERONÁUTICAS. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 19 abr. 2005. (3) COMFORAERNAV. Histórico. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 25 jun. 2003.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - 2 via email from Magda Moritz, 4-23-08 O COMANDANTE JORGE HENRIQUE MOLLER, casou-se com a senhora Ana dos Santos, natural de Portugal, tão logo essa senhora chegou ao Brasil. Ela passou, então, a chamar-se Ana dos Santos Moller. Não tiveram filhos, mas como o Comandante era uma pessoa boníssima, sempre ajudou a todos os sobrinhos.      Dono de uma inteligência privilegiada e de uma vasta cultura, dedicava-se à botânica, medicina, música.Em uma de sua residências, localizada na Rua da Passagem, no Rio de Janeiro, tinha várias estufas, onde realizava experimentos com sementes e dedicava-se ao plantio de árvores frutíferas e flores raras.Essa residência era provida de fontes, cascatas, onde pássaros eram criados livres. Por gostar de arte e trazer em uma de suas ascendências linhagem egípcia, tinha inumeros objetos em sua casa desse país, assim como sua sala era toda decorada com afrescos egípcios.       Em sua linhagem, também encontravam-se músicos e daí ele desenvolveu o gosto por instrumentos como cavaquinho, instrumento bem brasileiro como ele, banjo, violão, seu inseparável companheiro, mesmo quando estava embarcado.      Estudou muito a homeopatia. Era exímio cavaleiro. Gostava de fazer perfume, utilizando a água da chuva e talvez tenha adquirido esse dom, quando morou com sua amada esposa em Paris. Morou também na Rua Marques de Abrantes e na Rua Clarice Indio do Brasil.      Ao falecer, inicialmente, foi enterrado na cripta dos aviadores e, depois foi trasladado para a campa da família, no mesmo Cemitério São João Batista, no Rio de Janeiro.       Esses são alguns pequenos detalhes sobre esse ilustre e magnânimo ser humano, mas que viveu de maneira humilde e simples, embora muito tenha feito e tentado fazer por esse Brasil que tanto amava e até mesmo pelo mundo, já que se dedicava a tantas frentes em prol da melhoria da natureza. Um visionário, um precursor da ecologia. Não é à toa que era tão amigo de Santos Dumont, outro que viveu à frente de seu tempo, grande inventor, idealista de um mundo melhor, tendo ambos, entristecido ao ver a invenção "aeronave", transformar-se em arma de destruição.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - 2 Machine translation Partially refined courtesy of Michael Nothenberg COMMANDER JORGE HENRIQUE MOLLER, married Ana dos Santos, a native of Portugal, as soon she arrived in Brazil. Thereafter, she was called Ana dos Santos Moller. They had children, but as the Commander was a very generous person, he was always deeply involved with his nephews.      Possessed of a privileged intelligence and a broad culture, he was dedicated to botany, medicine and music. In one of his residences, located on Rua da Passagem,, in Rio de Janeiro, he had several greenhouses, where he performed experiments with seeds and where he was active in the planting of fruit trees and rare flowers. That residence featured both fountains and waterfalls which birds were free to visit.      Because of his love of art and in honor of his Egyptian heritage, he had many objects in his home from that country, as well as a room which was decorated with Egyptian frescoes.       In his family, there were musicians and he developed a love of instruments such as the cavaquinho, a Brazilian instrument similar to the banjo and a violin, his inseparable companion, even when I was on board ship.       He studied homeopathy in osme detail. He was a man of many accomplishments. Among others, he liked to make perfume, using rain water and may have acquired this hobby when he lived with his beloved wife in Paris. He also lived on Rua Marques de Abrantess and Rua Clarice Indio in Brazil.      When he died, he initially was buried in the crypt of the airmen, and later was transferred to the family grave in the same cemetery, the Cemitério São João Batista, no Rio de Janeiro.      These are some details regarding this distinguished and magnanimous human being, who, nevertheless, lived in a simple and unpretending manner, notwithstanding his achievements in Brazil and elsewhere, with emphasis on the opening of several fronts favoring nature protection. Regarded as a visionary and forerunner of modern ecologists, it is not surprising that he became a close friend to Santos Dumont, who also lived ahead of his time, becoming a prominent inventor and idealist. Both mourned over the use of airplanes as tools for destruction.

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Jorge Henrique Moller", using the Google search engine, (10-17-03), you will find about 10 links. Among the most helpful are the following.

FIRST BRAZILIAN MILITARY MAN SOLOS IN FRANCE, 1911      This useful bit of history came from the Diretoria de Aeronáutica da Marinha website. Unfortunately, the article seems to have disappeared from the net. (10-17-03) To visit the homepage of the website simply click on the title above. Luckily I had copied a portion of the article which you can read just below.        "Five years after the pioneering flight of Santos Dumont, in 1911, two events highlighted the interest of the Navy in aviation, in a prophetic vision of the potentials for its role in the military field. The first event referred to Navy Lieutenant Jorge Henrique Moller who won his wings in France on April 29, 1911. He was the first Brazilian military man to receive such training. The Aéreo Clube Brasileiro, (Brazilian Aero Club), 14/10/1911 was established on October 14, 1911. The first president was Almirante Jose Carlos de Carvalho. "

The other links only mention the fact that Moller was the first Brazilian military man to be trained as an aviator.

 

At this time, I have no information as to the dates of his birth or of his death.

 

Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this Early Flier, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back