Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896), the German "Glider King", was a pioneer of human aviation. He was the first person to make repeated successful short flights in a fixed-wing heavier-than-air glider, following an experimental approach first established earlier in the century by Sir George Cayley. Newspapers and magazines in many countries published photographs of Lilienthal gliding, favorably influencing public and scientific opinion about the possibility of flying machines becoming practical reality after ages of idle fantasy and unscientific tinkering.