Julio Ruiz de Alda

Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz (7 October 1897 – 23 August 1936) was a Spanish aviator and founder of the Falange.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Alda and the second or maternal family name is Miqueleiz.

Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz
Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz in 1926
Born	(1897-10-07)7 October 1897 Estella, Navarre, Kingdom of Spain
Died	23 August 1936(1936-08-23) (aged 38) Cárcel Modelo, Madrid, Second Spanish Republic
Cause of death	Execution by firing squad
Allegiance	Kingdom of Spain (1900–1931)  Spanish Republic (1931–1936) Nationalist Spain (1936)
Service / branch	Spanish Army
Years of service	1913–1928
Battles / wars	Rif War, Spanish Civil War

He joined the Army at the age of 15 and developed an interest in planes. He was the co-pilot (with Ramón Franco) of the Plus Ultra as it completed a transatlantic flight in 1926. The Plus Ultra departed from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, Spain on 22 January and arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 26 January. It stopped over at Gran Canaria, Cape Verde, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. The 10,270 km journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes.

In 1931, along with José Antonio Primo de Rivera (Marquess of his birthplace), he was a founding member of the Falange movement. He was shot without a trial by an anarchist militia in Madrid's Cárcel Modelo prison on 23 August 1936, after the beginning of the civil war.

External links

• The Flight of the Plus Ultra
• The Plus Ultra at the museum in Luján