Eugene Jacques Bullard was one of the first African-American military pilots, although Bullard flew for France, not the United States. Bullard was one of the few black combat pilots during World War I, along with William Robinson Clarke, a Jamaican who flew for the Royal Flying Corps, Domenico Mondelli from Italy, and Ahmet Ali Çelikten of the Ottoman Empire. Also a boxer and a jazz musician, he was called "L'Hirondelle noire" in French.
Bullard in his uniform as a French Army caporal
Bullard in his later years, wearing on his shoulder the croix de guerre Fourragère, 170th Regiment distinction, and the cap of French war veterans
Bullard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, 1954
Plaque of Bullard at the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame
Ahmet Ali Çelikten, also known as Izmirli Ali Ahmet, was a Turkish aviator of Afro-Turkish descent regarded as the first black pilot in history. He was one of the first black men to become a fighter pilot, receiving his "wings" in 1914. He was one of the few black pilots in World War I, similar to African American Eugene Jacques Bullard, William Robinson Clarke from Jamaica, Pierre Réjon from Martinique and Domenico Mondelli from Eritrea. Ahmet's maternal grandmother was born in Bornu and was brought to what is now Turkey as part of the Ottoman slave trade.
Çelikten with his flight cap, Yeşilköy Airfield - today Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Istanbul.
Ahmet Ali in flight suit with officers wearing a fez in the background.
Ottoman naval aviators of the Naval Flight School (Deniz Tayyare Mektebi) at Yeşilköy; left to right: pilot Ahmet Ali (Çelikten), Sami (Uçan), İhsan and observer Hüseyin Kâmil (Görgün).
Ottoman pilots in 1914/1915 next to a Blériot XI-2 monoplane. Ahmet Ali Çelikten can be seen next to the propeller.
