Category: History - Modern (1750+)
The title of our introduction to aeronautics may appear ambitious to astronomers, and to those who know that the infinite space we call the heavens is for ever inaccessible to travellers from the earth; but it was not so considered by those who witnessed the ardent enthusiasm...
Not a few of our readers will remember the ascent of Nadar’s colossal balloon from Paris, on Sunday, the 18th of October, 1863. This balloon was remarkable as having attached to...
11. Chapter I. The History of Aerostation from the Year 1783.The Open Route--Travels and Travellers--Great Increase in the Number of Air Voyages--Lyons, Ascent of “Le Flesselles-- Milan, Ascent of Adriani--Flight of a Balloon from London-...
2. Chapter II. Attempts in Ancient Times to Fly in the Air.Before contemplating the sudden conquest of the aerial kingdom, as accomplished and proclaimed at the end of the last century, it is at once curious and instructive to cast a gl...
20. Chapter X. The Necrology of AeronauticWe will conclude this second part by giving a brief notice of some of those who, in the early days of aerostation, fell martyrs to their devotion to the new cause, and sometimes...
10. Chapter X. The Second Arial Voyage.The first ascent of Roziers and Arlandes was a feat of hardihood almost unique. The men’s courage was, so to speak, their only guarantee. Thanks to the balloon, however, they ac...
13. Chapter III.The longest course travelled by Montgolfiere balloons, and the highest elevation reached by them, were achieved by Roziers and Proust with the Montgolfiere la Marie Antoinette,...
3. Chapter III. The Theory of Balloons.A certain proposition in physics, known as the “Principle of Archimedes,” runs to the following effect:--“Every body plunged into a liquid loses a portion of its weight equal to...
21. Chapter I. Experiments of Robertson, Lhoest, Saccarof, &c.Robertson is regarded by many as a sort of mountebank; yet such men as Arago have put themselves to the trouble of examining the aerostatic feats of this aeronaut, and of examin...
12. Chapter II. Experiments and Studies--Blanchard at Paris--Guyton deThe most popular name in aerostation during the Revolution and the Consulate in France is, without doubt, that of Blanchard. We have already referred to him in the chapter which...
9. Chapter IX. The First Aerial Voyage--Roziers and Arlandes.These experiments had only one aim--the application of Montgolfier’s discovery to aerial navigation. The knowledge gained in the Faubourg St. Antoine having led to the most favo...
23. Chapter III. Ascents of the Mssrs. Welsh, Glaisher and Coxwell.The most recent balloon ascents in England deserving attention have been undertaken for scientific objects, and in this country, more than in any other, it may be said that the...
14. Chapter IV.The discovery like that of balloons could not be made public in France without being travestied, and without offering some comic side for the amusement of the wits of the day. U...
24. Chapter IV. Balloons Made Useful in Warfare.We will conclude our work with a glance at aerostation as applied to warfare. Scarcely had the first ascents astonished the world, than the more adventurous spirits began to use...
18. Chapter VIII. Green’s Great Journey Across Europe.It is probable that at the origin of navigation, man, before he had invented oars and sails, made use of trunks of trees upon which he trusted himself, leaving the rest to the w...
15. Chapter V. First Aerial Voyage in England--Blanchard Crosses the Sea inIn spite of their known powers of industry and perseverance, the English did not throw themselves with any great ardour into the exploration of the atmosphere. From one cause or...
1. Chapter I. Introduction.The title of our introduction to aeronautics may appear ambitious to astronomers, and to those who know that the infinite space we call the heavens is for ever inaccessible to t...
16. Chapter VI. Zambeccari’s Perilous Trip Across the Adriatic Sea.There is not in the whole annals of aerostation a more moving catastrophe than that of the unfortunate Comte Zambeccari, who, during an aerial journey on October the 7th, 1804,...
8. Chapter VIII. Men and Balloons.It is not natural that the human mind should stop upon the way to the solution of a problem, especially when it seems to be on the point of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion...
5. Chapter V. Second Experiment.The indescribable enthusiasm caused by the ascent of the first balloon at Annonay, spread in all directions, and excited the wondering curiosity of the savants of the capital. A...
17. Chapter VII. Garnerin--Parachutes--Aerostation at Public Fetes.“On the 22nd October, 1797,” says the astronomer Lalande, “at twenty-eight minutes past five, Citizen Garnerin rose in a balloon from the park of Monceau. Silence reigned in the...
6. Chapter VI. Third Experiment.As we have seen, the triumph of aerostation was sudden and complete. The young Montgolfier had arrived in Paris prior to the experiment of the 27th of August, and was present as...
4. Chapter IV. First Public Trial of the Balloon.We are accustomed to rank the brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier as equally distinguished in the field of science. The reason for thus associating these two names seems to...
22. Chapter II. Ascent of M. Gay-Lussac Alone--Excursions of MM. Barral andM. Gay-Lussac says:--“Having arrived at the most elevated point of my ascent, 21,000 feet above sea level, my respiration was rendered sensibly difficult, but I was far from exp...
7. Chapter VII. Fourth Experiment.Of course another balloon was wanted for the fete at Versailles. The king had demanded an ascent for the 19th, a week after the disaster at the Faubourg St. Antoine. Already the...