Jean Louis Conneau better known under the pseudonym André Beaumont, was a pioneer French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 aviator

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

, Naval Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 and Flying boat manufacturer.

Flying career

Beaumont earned his French pilot's license on 7 December 1910 (#322), and his military pilot's license on 18 December 1911 (#4).

Air races

In 1911 he won three of the toughest aeronautical tests: 'Paris-Rome'; the first 'Circuit d'Europe' (Tour of Europe) (Paris-Liege-Spa-Utrecht-Brussels-Calais-London-Calais-Paris) 7 July 1911; and the Daily Mail

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

 Circuit of Britain Race

Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Air Race

The Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Air Race was a British cross-country air race which took place from 1911 until 1914, with prizes donated by the Daily Mail newspaper...

 (England and Scotland) 26 July 1911.

During the Paris-London leg of the 'Circuit d'Europe' his support engineer and teammate Léon Lemartin

Léon Lemartin

Théodore Clovis Edmond Lemartin, known as Léon Lemartin was a pioneer aviator who set a world record on 3 February 1911 at Pau, France when he carried seven passengers in a Bleriot XIII Aerobus...

 was involved in a fatal accident on take-off.

Plane manufacture

In 1913 he co-founded Franco-British Aviation

Franco-British Aviation

Franco-British Aviation was an aircraft manufacturer of the early 20th century, headquartered in London and with its production facilities around Paris. It was established in 1913 by Louis Schreck and André Beaumont and during World War I produced large numbers of small flying boats for the navies...

 (FBA) to build flying boat

Flying boat

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...

s (Fr. Hydravions (Hydraplanes)). It was head-quartered in London, manufactured in Paris and supplied both the French and British armies.

A flying boat pilot, during the World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he commanded squadrons at Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

, Bizerte

Bizerte

Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...

, Dunkirk, and Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. He worked at Franco-British Aviation perfecting flying boats for the French Navy from 1915 through 1919. He later became the 'Technical Director' of Donnet-Lévèque who manufactured Hydravions.