Oskar Erbslöh

Oskar Erbslöh (21 April 1879 – 13 July 1910) was a German aviation pioneer.

Early life Erbslöh came from a family of merchants in Elberfeld. His father, Carl Emil Erbslöh, ran a manufacturing business there. Oskar received his education at the and completed a commercial apprenticeship in Hanover. Around 1900 he gained business experience abroad and traveled to North America. He turned early to various sports and in 1904 to ballooning in particular. After fulfilling his military duty, in 1905 he joined the family business as a partner.

Work In 1905 Erbslöh was named Ballonführer of the Niederrheinischer Verein für Luftschifffahrt (Lower Rhine Airship Club), which had been founded in 1902. In 1906 he won first prizes in several national ballooning races. On 30 September 1906, at the first Gordon Bennett Cup, Erbslöh took ninth place along with Hugo von Abercron in the balloon Düsseldorf.