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- Holger Hoiriis or Højriis in Danish (1901–1942), was born in the Brabrand area, Denmark, but emigrated to the United States, where he became a recognized pilot in the 1930-1940s. He was the first Dane who made a transatlantic flight, which made him famous in Denmark. Holger Hoiriis gave up his work in agriculture and went to the U.S. in 1924, at the age of 23. He took flying lessons on Long Island, then bought a plane. It didn't take long before he earned money by performing various acrobatic tricks or barnstorming. It gave him the nickname, hold your horses Hoiriis. People could also get a trip in his plane for a fee. A trip cost $1.50, and after some time, he owned several planes. Some years later he worked as a flight instructor at the of Bellanca Airfield and by as a test pilot. He was one of the pioneer pilots of All American Aviation mail pickup service, and in 1939 he demonstrated the world's first night pickup service at Bellanca Airfield. With the approach of World War II, Hoiriis became the first wing commander of the Delaware Wing Civil Air Patrol, whose core mission, was to patrol the east coast of the United States, trying to find German submarines. He did that very effectively and was the first to introduce defined search patterns, so that all of the Delaware coast was patrolled. This led to the ironic nickname willy nilly. Holger Hoiriis married Miss Boynton; they had three daughters together. He died in 1942 of complications from typhoid. (en)
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