That story took place nearly 100 years ago, and was told by Mr. Bernard Ho Dac - son of Ho Dac Cung at the seminar "The intelligence and virtue of scholars in the transitional period at the end of the Nguyen Dynasty from a typical Ho Dac family" on the morning of April 24.

Mr. Bernard Ho Dac shared at the seminar

The discussion took place at the Intercultural Meeting Point - Lan Vien Co Tich (Bach Dang Street, Phu Xuan District) and attracted many researchers and culture lovers to attend.

Telling in detail about his father Ho Dac Cung, Mr. Bernard Ho Dac, a man of French and Vietnamese blood, was not only moved but also proud. On the contrary, the listeners were also extremely surprised about a historical figure with a very special "start-up" journey.

Mr. Ho Dac Cung, born in 1907 in Hue , first studied at Nguyen Phan Long School in old Saigon, then went to France to study at Montpellier at the School of Electrical Engineering. Graduated and worked in France for 2 years, then returned to Saigon.

In Saigon, Mr. Cung worked as an auto mechanic. In his spare time, he was passionate about researching airplanes. Once, when he saw a small plane called a “sky flea”, Mr. Cung copied it and decided to create a new one. However, when it was finished, the “sky flea” could not fly because it lacked wheels and an engine.

At that time, he had sent to buy those things from France through the Poinssard company. However, because the amount of money was too large, Mr. Cung boldly sent a letter to King Bao Dai asking for support.

This story was written in Trang An Newspaper No. 25 (published on May 24, 1935): “After sending the letter, Mr. Ho Dac Cung had the feeling that it would be crumpled and thrown into the basket. But recently, he received news that the French Indochina Bank in Saigon wanted to see him. Surprised, he went immediately, a small piece of paper with a few simple lines informing him that the letter he presented to the Emperor had been noticed: “The order of Emperor Bao Dai to grant mechanic Ho Dac Cung the sum of 300 silver coins”. Overjoyed, after receiving that huge sum of money, he immediately sent it to France to urge them to send the machine as soon as possible. When the machine was received, Mr. Ho Dac Cung would fly to Hue to thank the Emperor”.

Then, Trang An Newspaper No. 75 (published on November 15, 1935) reported: “There is news in Saigon that Mr. Ho Dac Cung’s small plane called “sky flea” was taken by him at Tan Son Nhat airport one afternoon recently. The plane flew very high, both up and down as expected. It had to be repaired several times to get it to this point. The first time, Mr. Cung tried it at Tan Son Nhat airport, the propeller was spinning but it could not take off because the rope tying the wings was shaking. The second time, on October 26, the plane was able to take off but when it was high, it suddenly nosedived, almost causing Mr. Cung to be in danger. The third time it was able to fly completely. It seems he will fly to Hue.”

The story of Mr. Ho Dac Cung was told by his son Bernard Ho Dac and surprised many people.

Bernard Ho Dac said that after the accident, his father went to France and opened an engineering company. Then, he went to Tunisia to work. Before passing away in 1984, Ho Dac Cung entrusted stories about his homeland, grandparents, ancestors as well as his ambitions to his son.

Influenced to some extent by his father, Bernard Ho Dac also made his name when, at the age of 22, he founded CRIFA, a Franco-German Research and Development Agency focusing mainly on new civil engineering techniques.

He then joined SICOM, where he became general manager and developed fiberglass stress technology, where he integrated the first fiber-optic monitoring system. He himself developed the method of continuous fiber-optic monitoring, advocating the method of structural engineers. SICOM would become OSMOS, of which Bernard Ho Dac was the founding chairman and CEO.

In 1993, he was assigned to oversee the Eiffel Tower, which still stands today. As an inventor, Bernard Ho Dac holds more than 35 patents. He is the author of numerous publications in the fields of inter-company collaboration, prestressing and structural supervision.

NHAT MINH

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/thong-tin-van-hoa/tung-co-nha-sang-che-gui-thu-cho-vua-bao-dai-xin-tien-mua-dong-co-may-bay-152941.html