08/07/1838 German airship manufacturer Ferdinand von Zeppelin is born
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The Zeppelin: Where did it come from? | Stuff of Genius
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The Rise of Zeppelin's Airships
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FERDINAND VON ZEPPELIN AND HIS AIRSHIPS
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Funeral of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin
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The Zeppelin: History of the World's Greatest Airships
He built the first rigid airship, often called just Zeppelin today. After retiring from army, he started a company to build airships in 1898. His first airship took off in 1900 at Lake Constance, where she had been assembled in a floating assembly shed. During the Great war, Zeppelins were used to bomb Britain.