Leonidas Arniotis (; 1862–1939) was one of the most famous entertainers and theatre owners in Athens in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Though, he is most remembered as the first Greek to attempt to actually fly on an airplane in his home country.
Biography Early career as an entertainer He was born in Sparta in 1862 and was one of the pioneers of theatre in his home town. By 1893, he reportedly already “occupied a leading position among the horse trainers in Europe", called the "winged horseman" in Paris. Evangelia Georgitsoyianni, "ΛΕΩΝΙΔΑΣ ΑΡΝΙΩΤΗΣ: Μία σημαντική πολιτισμική παρουσία στις αρχές του εικοστού αιώνα", Society for Laconian Studies, Athens (2002) In the 1890s, he toured the United States, organizing shows with trained dogs and cats, as well as shows with horses.
In 1904, he founded the famous “Arniotis Theater” () in Athens, a popular entertainment venue that hosted variety troupes, trained animal performances and avant-garde shows, while he also wrote lyrics, plays, and musical scores.
Attempts at flight Also trained as a mechanic, Arniotis attempted to be the first man in Greece to actually fly on an airplane. His efforts utilized a damaged Blériot, probably a Blériot XI, which he brought to Greece in pieces in 1909. He assembled and largely rebuilt the plane, using this chance to introduce a number of his own changes to the design (thanks to a team of carpenters and blacksmiths he had assembled), including a home-built propeller.ΧΡΟΝΟΣ newspaper, September 27, 1910, p.2 Thus, he proclaimed himself “inventor and airplane builder” and claimed that in private trials he had managed small flights - probably short hops - of 40-50 metres.ΕΜΠΡΟΣ newspaper, September 21, 1910, p.1 However, his famous first public attempt on September 26, 1910 failed. He attempted another failed public attempt in October 1910. By December 1910, he had further modified his plane into an early seaplane and claimed that, after all modifications and rebuilding, his plane was “a product of local industry”.ΑΘΗΝΑΙ newspaper, December 1, 1910, p.2 However, his two public attempts to fly in January 1911, failed again.ΠΑΤΡΙΣ newspaper, January 8, 1911, p.3 Arniotis kept improving his plane, installing a new engine and new wings in April 1911ΠΑΤΡΙΣ newspaper, April 18, 1911, p.3, and apparently managed to get off the ground (probably making short hops) since May 1911 – in that respect, being the first Greek to even momentarily take off the ground on an airplane, in his home country.ΠΑΤΡΙΣ newspaper, May 24, 1911, p.3 Despite these, and other improvements that followed, his “flights” did not exceed a height of about 10 metres.ΚΑΙΡΟΙ newspaper, August 6, 1912, p.2 These series of public appearances and failures to achieve sustained flight made Arniotis a subject of ridicule by the Greek press. The first Greek to actually make a sustained flight in the country was Emmanouil Argyropoulos, on a Nieuport IV on February 8, 1912.
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