Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, born in Lyon 29 June 1900, was a French writer and aviator. In 1921 he began his military service and trained as a pilot, and at the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the French Air Force flying reconnaissance missions.

Later, he joined the Free French Forces but while flying a mission in the Rhone valley on 31 July 1944 he disappeared and was never seen again. It was assumed that he was shot down over the Mediterranean.

Antoine De Saint-Exupery was born in 1900 in Lyon. In 1921, he began his training as a pilot By 1926, he had became one of the pioneers of international postal flight.

In 1945 he embarked on a record-breaking attempt to fly from Paris to Saigon. Nineteen hours into the flight, his plane crashed in the Sahara desert. He survived the crash but spent three days battling dehydration, limited food and hallucinations. On the fourth day, the was rescued.

In part, this experience was the inspiration for The Little Prince. He continued to fly until World War II, during which he took self-imposed exile. On 31 July 1944, he disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance mission.