23th September, 1913 the French pilot Roland Garros first ever flew over the Mediterranean Sea

Roland Garros (October 6, 1888 - October 5, 1918) - French aviator during World War II.

In 1913, he became the first pilot who crossed the Mediterranean Sea. After the outbreak of war he joined the French army. Since both it was too difficult to control plane and the aim, he was the first to combine gun with the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, and proposed a design that allowed to shoot a machine gun located behind the lead screw. For this he used reflective shields on the blades of the propeller.

April 18, 1915 Roland Garros was shot down and spent a prisoner of war until February 1918, when he managed to escape. In October of the same year he was again shot down and killed.

The name of the pilot received tennis complex in Paris, home of the French Open tennis tournament. Championship itself is also often called the tournament "Roland Garros".