the first aerial voyages made in great britain—succeeding ascents.
the credit of the first aerial voyage made in great britain has usually been given to vincenzo lunardi, an italian. there is ground for believing, however, that the first balloon voyage was performed by a scotchman, as the following extract from chamber’s book of days will show:—
“it is generally supposed that lunardi was the first person who ascended by means of a balloon in great britain, but he certainly was not. a very poor man, named james tytler, who then lived in edinburgh, supporting himself and family in the humblest style of garret or cottage life by the exercise of his pen, had this honour. he had effected an ascent at edinburgh on the 27th of august 1784, just nineteen days previous to lunardi. tytler’s ascent, however, was almost a failure, by his employing the dangerous and unmanageable montgolfier principle. after several ineffectual attempts, tytler, finding that he could not carry up his fire-stove with him, determined, in the maddening desperation of disappointment, to go without this his sole sustaining power. jumping into his car, which was no other than a common crate used for packing earthenware, he and the balloon ascended from comely garden, and immediately afterwards fell in the restalrig road. for a wonder, tytler was uninjured; and though he did not reach a greater altitude than 300 feet, nor traverse a greater distance than half a mile, yet his name must ever be mentioned as that of the first briton who ascended with a balloon, and the first man who ascended in britain.
“tytler was the son of a clergyman of the church of scotland, and had been educated as a surgeon; but being of an eccentric and erratic genius, he adopted literature as a profession, and was the principal editor of the first edition of the encyclopaedia britannica. becoming embroiled in politics, he published a handbill of a seditious tendency, and consequently was compelled to seek a refuge in america, where he died in 1805, after conducting a newspaper at salem, in new england, for several years.”
the voyage of vincenzo lunardi was made in september 1784. his letters to a friend, in which he comments on the manners and customs of the english, are very amusing. his balloon was of the ordinary spherical shape, made of the best oiled silk, about 520 yards of which were used in its construction. it was filled with hydrogen gas, and provided with car, oars, and wings. the car consisted simply of a wooden platform surrounded by a breast high railing, and the oars and wings were intended, the one to check, by a vertical motion, the rapidity of descent, and the other to act as sails when becalmed in the upper regions of cloudland. he requested permission to make chelsea hospital the scene of his first aerial exploit, and the governor, sir george howard, with the full approval of his majesty king george the third, gave his consent. he accordingly made all necessary arrangements for an ascent, and his fondest expectations seemed about to be realised. he was, however, doomed to disappointment, owing to the failure of a rival balloon. writing to a friend at this time he says, “the events of this extraordinary island are as variable as its climate. it was but lately everything relating to my undertaking wore a favourable and pleasing appearance, but i am at this moment overwhelmed with anxiety, vexation, and despair.”
this rival balloon was constructed by a frenchman named de moret, who, having succeeded in attracting a concourse of fifty or sixty thousand people to see his ascent, failed in the primary part of his undertaking,—that of filling his balloon. the people, after waiting patiently for three hours, and supposing “the whole affair an imposture, rushed in and tore it to pieces.” in consequence of this failure, and the riots with which it was followed, the governor forbade signor lunardi to make his ascent from chelsea hospital grounds. he writes again to his friend, “the national prejudice of the english against france is supposed to have its full effect on a subject from which the literati of england expect to derive but little honour. an unsuccessful attempt has been made by a frenchman, and my name being that of a foreigner, a very excusable ignorance in the people may place me among the adventurers of that nation, who are said to have sometimes distinguished themselves here by ingenious impositions.” in vain did he try to obtain another place to launch his aerial ship; he was laughed at and ridiculed as an impostor, and the colleague of de moret. at length, after much exertion, he obtained leave to ascend from the ground of the honourable artillery company. by twelve o’clock on the day fixed for the ascension, an immense mass of people had assembled, including the prince of wales. the filling of the balloon caused some delay, but, in order to keep the patience of the populace within control, it was only partially filled. at five minutes past two the balloon ascended amid the loud acclamations of the assembled multitudes, and signor lunardi had proved himself no impostor. he writes to his friend, “the stillness, extent, and magnificence of the scene rendered it highly awful. my horizon seemed a perfect circle, the terminating line several hundred miles in circumference; this i conjectured from the view of london, the extreme points of which formed an angle only a few degrees. it was so reduced on the great scale before me that i can find no simile to convey an idea of it. i could distinguish saint paul’s and other churches from the houses; i saw the streets as lines, all animated with beings whom i knew to be men and women, but which otherwise i should have had a difficulty in describing. it was an enormous bee-hive, but the industry of it was suspended. all the moving mass seemed to have no object but myself, and the transition from the suspicion, perhaps contempt, of the preceding hour, to the affectionate transport, admiration, and glory of the present moment, was not without its effect on my mind. it seemed as if i had left below all the cares and passions that molest mankind. i had not the slightest sense of motion in the machine; i knew not whether it went swiftly or slowly, whether it ascended or descended, whether it was agitated or tranquil, but by the appearance or disappearance of objects on the earth. the height had not the effect which a much less degree of it has near the earth, that of producing giddiness. the gradual diminution of objects, and the masses of light and shade, are intelligible in oblique and common prospects, but here everything wore a new appearance and had a new effect. the face of the country had a mild and permanent verdure to which italy is a stranger. the variety of cultivation and the accuracy with which property is divided give the idea, ever present to the stranger in england, of good civil laws and an equitable administration. the rivulets meandering; the immense districts beneath me spotted with cities, towns, villages, and houses, pouring out their inhabitants to hail my appearance. you will allow me some merit in not having been exceedingly intoxicated with my situation.” he descended at north mimms about half-past three-o’clock, but wishing to obtain a second triumph, he threw out the remainder of his ballast and provisions, landed a cat which he had taken up with him, and which had suffered severely from the cold, and again ascended to the regions above. this time his ascent was more rapid, the thermometer quickly fell to 29 degrees, and icicles were soon formed all round his machine. he descended at twenty minutes past four near ware in hertfordshire, and the balloon being properly secured, the gas was let out and “nearly poisoned the whole neighbourhood by the disagreeable stench emitted.” the success and triumph of this first attempt in aerial navigation in english air exceeded signor lunardi’s utmost expectations. everywhere he was received with marks of approbation, and treated as a hero. “my fame,” he writes, “has not been sparingly diffused by the newspapers (which in england are the barometers of public opinion; often erroneous, as other instruments are, in their particular information, but yielding the best that can be obtained). you will imagine the importance of these vehicles of knowledge when you learn that in london alone there are printed no less than 160,000 papers weekly, which, by a stamp on each paper, and a duty on advertisements, brings into the treasury of the nation upwards of 80,000 pounds a year. they are to the english constitution what the censors were to those of ancient rome. ministers of state are checked and kept in awe by them, and they freely, and often judiciously, expose the pretensions of those who would harass government merely to be taken into its service.”
there were many other aeronauts who distinguished themselves after this period.
in 1785, monsieur blanchard, with dr j. jeffries, an american, crossed the channel between england and france in a balloon—starting from dover, and descending in safety in the forest of guiennes. they had, however, a narrow escape, having been compelled to throw out all their ballast, and everything they could dispense with, to prevent their balloon from falling into the sea.
the first ascents for scientific purposes were made about the beginning of the present century. in 1803, mr robertson ascended from saint petersburg, for the purpose of making electrical, magnetical, and physiological experiments. messieurs gay-lussac and biot followed his example from paris, in 1804. gay-lussac was an enthusiastic and celebrated aeronaut. he made several interesting ascents.
two years afterwards, brioschi, the astronomer-royal at naples, endeavoured to ascend to a higher elevation than had been reached by monsieur gay-lussac—namely, 22,977 feet. he was accompanied by signor andreani, the first italian aeronaut. the balloon burst when at a great height, but the remnants were sufficient to check the descent so much that both gentlemen escaped with their lives. brioschi, however, received injuries which afterwards resulted in his death.
in england one of the most famous aeronauts was mr green, who introduced coal gas for balloons, and made many hundreds of ascents. in the year 1836 he ascended from london in a coal-gas balloon, and with two other gentlemen made an aerial voyage to weilburg in the grand duchy of nassau. it lasted eighteen hours, and extended over 500 miles.
