Balloons, Airships, and Flying Machines

So far in our story we have traced the origin and progress of the balloon, showing how from small beginnings it has grown to be an important invention, of great use to the scien...

Unfortunately the death of Pilâtre de Rozier was but the first of a series of fatal accidents which marred the early years of the history of ballooning. Shortly afterwards anoth...

But there is another practical use for the balloon to which we must now refer, and that a most important one--its employment in war-time. It was not long after the invention of...

At first sight it may perhaps appear that so far the flying machine has accomplished less than the airship, and gives less promise of success, since up to the present time no fl...

One November night in the year 1782, so the story runs, two brothers sat over their winter fire in the little French town of Annonay, watching the grey smoke-wreaths from the he...

During the time of which we are speaking there was living in London a famous chemist named Henry Cavendish. He was the son of a nobleman, and a very rich man; but he shut himsel...

So far, in our history of aeronautics, we have referred to ballooning only as a sport or pastime for the amusement of spectators, and for the gratifying of a love of adventure....

In our last chapters we have, in some measure, brought our aeronautical history up to the present day, though of necessity many important points and notable voyages have been pa...

of his watch. He noticed the mercury of the barometer, however, and saw that a height of 29,000 feet had been reached, and the balloon was still rising. What followed next had b...