Ehrenfried G%C3%BCnther Freiherr von H%C3%BCnefeld

Ehrenfried Gnther Freiherr von Hnefeld was a German aviation pioneer and initiator of the first transatlantic aeroplane flight from East to West.

Hnefeld was born in Knigsberg, East Prussia, the son of the owner of Braxeinswalde near Preuisch Eylau, where he grew up. He was blind on his left eye and nearsighted on his right, and his childhood was characterized by several serious diseases. After attending school in Berlin, he studied at Berlin University and came in contact with the first flight pioneers at Berlins Johannisthal Air Field. At the beginning of World War I he tried join to the German Air Service as a volunteer, but was rejected due to his poor health. After that he volunteered again as a motorcyclist, and was wounded in September 1914 in Flanders, which led to a shortened left leg. Due to his handicaps he could not return to service and joined the German Diplomatic Service, serving in Sofia, Constantinople, and as an Imperial Vice Consul in the Netherlands. After the end of World War I he stayed in the Netherlands for one and a half years with the German Crown Prince Wilhelm, before returning to Germany, where he wo

Source: Wikipedia