One Historical Event Few Americans will hear about this month is the centennial anniversary of the first flight of New Zealand aviator and inventor Richard Pearse. Most people in this country don't know his name. But many in New Zealand believe Pearse was the first person to fly. Pearse was a cattle farmer who built and flew a bamboo-framed mono-wing airplane far enough and high enough to crash-land on a lonely country road on top of a 12-foot-high gorse hedge. It was March 31, 1903, historians and witnesses say, eight months before the Wright brothers flew. At the end of the month, more than 5,000 revelers are expected to join a parade and air show in Tima-ru, a port town near Pearse's farm. But given the lack of coverage by the American media so far, I doubt many here will notice. While newspaper editors are creating new spins on the Wright brothers' upcoming centennial, Pearse's achievement is not even on their radars. How sad that a brilliant day in world history is being ignored.
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