World War I: Hit by ground fire, French aviation pioneer Roland Garros (pictured) landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and was taken prisoner by German forces.

World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Main areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. There were important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 30 million military casualties, plus another 8 million civilian deaths from war-related causes and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros was a French aviation pioneer and fighter pilot. Garros began a career in aviation in 1909 and performed many early feats such as the first-ever airplane crossing of the Mediterranean Sea in 1913. He joined the French army and became one of the earliest fighter pilots during World War I. Garros was shot down and died on 5 October 1918. In 1928, the Roland Garros tennis stadium was named in his memory; the French Open tennis tournament officially takes the name of Roland Garros, which is held in this stadium.