Eduardo_Bradley
Eduardo Bradley (9 April 1887 – 3 June 1951) was an Argentine pilot and balloonist who in 1916 made the first balloon crossing of the Andes. He was a leading figure in the founding of civil aviation in South America.Born in the city of La Plata, Argentina on April 9, 1887, Bradley was the son of Tomás Bradley Sutton, veteran of the Paraguayan War, and Mary Hayes O’Callaghan. He began his pilot's career alongside Jorge Newbery. His brevet was the first issued following the newly created regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Shortly after Newbery's death in 1914, he set out to honor his late friend by attempting to cross the Andes in an aerostat. Already an experienced balloonist, Bradley had made over one hundred ascensions and set records for altitude (6,900 meters), flight duration (28 hours, 10 minutes), and distance covered in-flight (900 km, to Rio Grande do Sul from Buenos Aires).