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The Great Balloon Race of 1785
A surprisingly rich year in the history of aviation
The year 1785 was surprisingly rich in terms of advancements in aviation technology. While “flight” isn’t recognized as having been achieved until 1903, in 1785, multiple people were working on balloon flights. Before the Wright Brothers lifted off from the ground in their crude plane, people were attempting to travel vast differences via lighter-than-air vehicles powered by hot air and volatile gasses. These achievements are largely forgotten but they were important to advancing the interest in flight that would eventually lead to modern air travel.
In 1785, the big prize was to fly a balloon over the English Channel. At least two groups were working on balloons that would be able to ferry them from France to England. This was an era where the king of France often took time to invite balloonists to his private gardens at Versailles to watch them launch and float lazily over the Parisian skyline. Ballooning became so popular during this time that it took on a new name — Balloonomania.
The first manned balloon flight took place in 1783 by Frenchman Pilatre de Rozier. Rozier managed to fly over Paris for 25 minutes after convincing the king that he could pilot the balloon himself. (The king initially wanted to man the balloon with convicted felons in the…
