Alfred Lowenstein (March 11, 1877 - July 4, 1928) was a Belgian soldier, aviator, sportsman, and one of the most powerful businessmen during the early decades of the 20th century. March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... 1877 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ... 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België, French: Royaume de Belgique, German: Königreich Belgien) is a country in Western Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea. ... A Norwegian soldier (a Corporal, armed with an MP-5) A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. ... Aviators are people who fly aircraft either for pleasure or for a job. ... A sport consists of a normal physical activity or skill carried out under a publicly agreed set of rules, and with a recreational purpose: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of skill, or some combination of these. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit_oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Born in Brussels, Belgium, he was a wealthy man by the time World War I erupted in Europe. He joined the Belgian armed forces and following the army's retreat, Captain Alfred Lowenstein was sent to London, England where he was placed in charge of military supplies. At war's end, he maintained a residence in England where he ran an investment business that made him one of Europe's most powerful financiers. He partnered with the Canadian-born investment house of Sir James Dunn in several ventures, the duo emerging with more than £1,000,000 profit from their 1920s investment in British Celanese alone. Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels ( Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the de facto capital of the European Union, as two of its three main institutions have their headquarters... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Armed forces are the military forces of a state. ... London — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major world city. With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... A military or miltary force (n. ... Canada is a sovereign state in northern North America, the northern-most country in the world, and the second largest in total area. ... Sir James Hamet Dunn, born October 29, 1874 - died January 1, 1956, was an major Canadian financier and industrialist during the first half of the 20th Century. ... Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 Referred to as the Roaring 20s. ...

Lowenstein also made an enormous fortune providing electric power facilities for developing countries worldwide through his Belgian-based company, "Société Internationale d'Énergie Hydro-Électrique" (SIDRO). By the mid 1920s, Lowenstein's reputation was such that he was consulted by heads of state from around the globe. The British government made him a Companion in The Most Honourable Order of the Bath. In 1926, he established "International Holdings and Investments Limited" that raised huge amounts of capital from wealthy investors wishing to get aboard his bandwagon of success. However, Lowenstein was rebuffed in his attempt to take over a Canadian company called Brazilian Traction, Light, and Power, a huge operation building infrastructure in Brazil. However, while flying on his private plane across the English Channel, Lowenstein went to the rear of the plane to use the lavatory. After a noticeable length of time passed, one of his employees went to check on him and found that he had vanished through the plane's rear door and had plunged several thousand feet to his death. Transmission lines in Lund, Sweden Electric power, often known as power or electricity, involves the production and delivery of electrical energy in sufficient quantities to operate domestic appliances, office equipment, industrial machinery and provide sufficient energy for both domestic and commercial lighting, heating, cooking and industrial processes. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Brascan is a Canadian asset management corporation with ownership in the real estate and power generation sectors with corporate headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. ... The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world. ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ... The English Channel ( French:La Manche) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. ... Flush toilet A toilet is a plumbing fixture devised for the disposal of bodily wastes, including urine, feces, menses and vomit. ...

News of Lowenstein's demise caused panic selling in his corporations' publicly traded shares that immediately plummeted in value by more than fifty percent. His body was recovered a few weeks later and with no evidence of foul play there was much speculation over what was labeled as a suicide. The New York Times hypothecated that a growing absent mindedness noted by many of Lowenstein's acquaintances may have caused him to walk out the wrong door of the plane. Because he had left behind a tangled web of business ventures, many of which were highly leveraged, others theorized that his business empire was on the verge of collapse. Some even asserted that corrupt business practices were about to be exposed and Lowenstein therefore committed suicide. None of these theories were ever proven. Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally ending ones own life. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

In 1987, William Norris wrote Lowenstein's story in a book titled The Man Who Fell From the Sky. 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other people named William Norris see William Norris (disambiguation). ...