J. W. Dunne

John William Dunne
John William Dunne in his D.5 biplane at Eastchurch, 14 June 1910
Born	1875 Curragh Camp, County Kildare, Ireland
Died	24 August 1949 Banbury, England
Occupation	Soldier Aeronaut Philosopher
Spouse(s)	Cicely Marion Violet Joan Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes
Children	John Geoffrey Christopher Dunne Rosemary Elizabeth Cecily Dunne
Parent(s)	General Sir John Hart Dunne Julia Elizabeth Dunne

John William Dunne FRAeS (1875–1949) was a British soldier, aeronautical engineer and philosopher. As a young man he fought in the Second Boer War, before becoming a pioneering aeroplane designer in the early years of the 20th century. Dunne worked initially on early military aircraft, concentrating on tailless swept wing designs to achieve the first certified inherently stable aircraft. He later developed a new approach to dry fly fishing before turning to philosophy, where he achieved some pre-eminence and literary influence through his theory on the nature of time and consciousness, which he called "Serialism".

John William Dunne was born in County Kildare, Ireland, the oldest son of General Sir John Hart Dunne KCB (1835–1924) and Julia Elizabeth Dunne, Anglo-Irish . His later life and career was mainly in England.

From an early age he was interested in science and technology and, inspired by a Jules Verne novel, at the age of 13 he dreamed of a flying machine that needed no steering.

Dunne joined the Imperial Yeomanry as an ordinary Trooper and fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa, under General Roberts but in 1900 was invalided home with typhoid.

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Wiltshire Regiment on 28 August 1901, he went back to South Africa to serve a second tour in March 1902. Dunne was diagnosed with heart disease, causing him to again return home the next year. Much of his remaining time in the Army would be spent on aeronautical work while on sick leave.