1784 and 1785 were busy years - the first balloon flight outside of France took place in Italy, the first female aeronaut soared (and sang) over Lyons, a thirteen year old boy was the first to fly in the US. there were also manned flights in Great Britain and Belgium
Arguably the greatest feat was achieved on January 7th 1785, when Jean-Pierre Blanchard, and his companion Dr John Jeffries, crossed the English Channel - from Dover to Calais. The flight took over two hours. Jefferies, the sponsor of the flight, wrote “Heaven has crowned my utmost wishes with success; I cannot describe to you the magnificance and beauty of our voyage.”, but it is believed that Blanchard tried to leave Jeffries behind, wanting the honour of the achievement to be entirely his.
This attitude/ego aside, Blanchard must be regarded as the first true professional aeronaut, travelling across Europe and then to the New World. His sixtieth voyage was his last. Suffering a heart attack whilst in the air in 1808, he never fully recovered - and died a year later. His widow Sophie, also a balloonist, became the first woman be killed in an aviation accident ten years later..
October 23, 2009, 3:40pm
