Our history
EUROAVIA Aachen was founded in 1985 by aerospace students of RWTH Aachen. But the story starts earlier: the European association EUROAVIA itself was born in Aachen in 1959.
1959
In 1956 a group of aerospace students in Aachen had the idea of a European association for aerospace students. From 9 to 17 March 1959 the constituent congress took place in Aachen, with about thirty students from ten universities in four countries. The first president, Jean Roeder, came from Aachen. Today EUROAVIA connects local groups all over Europe.
1913
Born in Budapest in 1881, Theodore von Kármán became director of the Aeronautical Institute at RWTH Aachen in 1913. In 1930 he moved to Caltech to lead the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory and later co-founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The Kármán line, the commonly used boundary of space, is named after him.
In 1956 he initiated the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics near Brussels. He died in 1963 during a visit to Aachen.
Constituent congress of EUROAVIA in Aachen. On 1 May 1959 the association officially begins its work.
The central committee of EUROAVIA moves from Aachen to Delft.
Aerospace students at RWTH Aachen adopt the statutes of EUROAVIA Aachen, named after Theodor von Kármán.
EUROAVIA Aachen is entered in the register of associations at the Amtsgericht Aachen.
Aachen hosts the celebration of 30 years of EUROAVIA.
The association becomes EUROAVIA Aachen “Theodor von Kármán” e.V.
Aachen hosts the 60-year Lustrum of EUROAVIA.
Excursions to the ILA Berlin and to the LUNA facility and the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne. The General Assembly modernises our statutes.
EMEAC in Lyon, AERO Friedrichshafen, Paris Air Show, Sanicole Airshow, DLR Cologne and Space Tech Expo Bremen. See all events
40 years in Aachen: EMEAC in Bucharest, 40 participants at the ILA Berlin, the von Karman Institute and our delegation at the EUROAVIA Congress in Dresden. See all events
Sources: History of EUROAVIA and the register of associations at the Amtsgericht Aachen (VR 2355). All presidents and secretaries since 2004 are on our Team page. Do you know more about our history or have old photos? Write to aachen@euroavia.eu.