In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, balloons were all the rage. In November 1783, the Montgolfier brothers had amazed the world with their sensational first flights, sparking a wave of balloonomania through France and England. Huge crowds gathered to watch balloonists – 400,000 are said to have watched a flight in Paris who became famous stars in their own rights.
The Montgolfiers used hot-air balloons, but hydrogen balloons were being developed in tandem by rival balloon pioneers. And it was in such a balloon that Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries made the first manned crossing of the English Channel by air. Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard was a professional balloonist and one of the stars of the scene. Jeffries was an American doctor with an interest in making observations of the weather. It was he who stumped up the £700 for the flight in return for a place in the basket.
The two hung about in Dover for three weeks, waiting for suitable conditions. And at 1PM on 7 January, they took off from the grounds of Dover Castle. Their balloon was equipped with a rudder, a propeller which didn't work and oars, by which they hoped to row themselves through the air in the absence of a favourable wind. It also carried anchors. All this extra weight almost did for the aviators, as half way across the Channel, the balloon dropped perilously close to the waves. Anything that could be thrown over the side was, including the aeronauts' trousers.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
It worked. The balloon gained altitude, and made it safely across to France, where the two landed as heroes in the foret de Gunes, near Calais, clad only in their underwear. Blanchard went on to make the first manned balloon flight in America some ten years later. His wife, Sophie Blanchard, became a hugely successful balloonist in her own right.
-
Tycoon Truong My Lan on death row over world’s biggest bank fraudProperty tycoon Truong My Lan has been found guilty of a corruption scandal that dwarfs Malaysia’s 1MDB fraud and Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto scam
-
Why undersea cables are under threat – and how to protect themUndersea cables power the internet and are vital to modern economies. They are now vulnerable
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar Square
Features On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is created
Features On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formed
Features On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
