Vincenzo Lunardi and the First Balloon Ascent in England

Vincenzo Lunardi and the First Balloon Ascent in England

Ever since the invention of the air balloon, and the first ascent in France by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783, there was huge enthusiasm for ballooning. Vincenzo Lunardi, an Italian diplomat, known as 'the Daredevil Aeronaut', and his friend George Biggin, were determined to make the first English ascent, and in September 1784 a crowd of 200,000 gathered at the Artillery Ground in Finsbury, London, to watch them demonstrate a hydrogen balloon.

The crowd was so impatient that Lunardi had to set off without his friend Biggin - however, he had a cat, a dog and a pigeon with him! It is said that his balloon passed above a courtroom where a prisoner was being tried for a capital offence; when it was announced that the balloon was in sight, the jury promptly acquitted the prisoner, and the court adjourned.

On this first English flight, Lunardi travelled 24 miles. His success brought him fame and fortune, and it brought a ballooning craze to Britain, to the extent that a bonnet was named after him - the Lunardi bonnet was shaped like a balloon.

In 1785 Lunardi made the first balloon ascent from Scotland: he travelled 46 miles across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh to Fife. The Scots Magazine reported that 'the beauty and grandeur of the specatacle could only be exceeded by the cool, intrepid manner in which the adventurer conducted himself; and indeed he seemed infinitely more at ease than the greater part of his spectators'.

Later that year the 'Daredevil Aeronaut' ascended from Glasgow and flew a tremendous 110 miles to Hawick in the Borders. Altogether Lunardi made five flights from Scotland, including one when he was forced down into the North Sea - luckily, he was rescued by a fishing boat. (Perhaps it was this incident which led him to invent a small lifeboat for shipwrecked people). His balloon, made of green, yellow and pink silk, was later exhibited in Glasgow Cathedral.

Before his death in 1806, Lunardi was to make further balloon ascents in his native Italy, including the first ascent from Sicily in 1890 - this successful flight lasted two hours.Vincenzo Lunardi and the First Balloon Ascent in England - Tobecool General Business - Directory Seo - Business Directory