Richard Pearse
Pilot
Aviation pioneer who built one of the earliest, heavier-than-air flying machines.
His early attempts at flying were hindered by engines that were too weak to effect anything more than a hopping motion.
His first airplane is rumored to have become airborne weeks before the Wright Brothers took their their flight.
He grew up in Temuka, New Zealand.
The Peter Jackson-produced mockumentary, "Claimed," dealt with the rivalry between Pearse and the Wright Brothers.