Up, Up and Away
On this day in 1785, Dr. John Jeffries, a Boston physician, and French aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard made the first balloon crossing of the English Channel. This landmark balloon trip originated in Dover, England, and ended in Calais, France. Jeffries and Blanchard landed their balloon in a forest after they were forced to throw overboard all ballast equipment and even their clothing to avoid landing in the English Channel's icy waters.
We have chosen William Holbrook Beard's painting The Lost Balloon to commemorate this lofty event in aeronautical history.
Pictured: William Holbrook Beard, 1824–1900, The Lost Balloon, 1882, oil, 47 3/4 x 33 3/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.
On this day in 1785, Dr. John Jeffries, a Boston physician, and French aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard made the first balloon crossing of the English Channel. This landmark balloon trip originated in Dover, England, and ended in Calais, France. Jeffries and Blanchard landed their balloon in a forest after they were forced to throw overboard all ballast equipment and even their clothing to avoid landing in the English Channel's icy waters.