# Jean-Pierre Blanchard

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French inventor (1753–1809)

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Jean-Pierre Blanchard A portrait of Blanchard by Richard Livesay Born 4 July 1753 Les Andelys, France Died 7 March 1809(1809-03-07) (aged 55) The Hague, Holland Occupation Inventor Known for Ballooning Spouse(s) Victoire Lebrun {abandoned} Marie Madeleine-Sophie Armant

**Jean-Pierre François Blanchard** (French pronunciation: [\[ʒɑ̃ pjɛʁ blɑ̃ʃaʁ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/French); 4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of [gas](/source/Gas_balloon) [balloon](/source/Balloon_(aircraft)) flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon. Notable for his successful hydrogen balloon flight in Paris on 2 March 1784, Blanchard later moved to London and undertook flights with varying propulsion mechanisms. His historic achievement came on 7 January 1785, crossing the [English Channel](/source/English_Channel) from [Dover Castle](/source/Dover_Castle) to [Guînes](/source/Gu%C3%AEnes) in about 2½ hours, receiving acclaim from [Louis XVI](/source/Louis_XVI) and earning a substantial pension.

Touring Europe, Blanchard demonstrated his balloons and showcased the modern [parachute](/source/Parachute), which he later used for a successful escape in 1793 when his [hydrogen balloon](/source/Gas_balloon) ruptured. Also in 1793, he conducted the first balloon flight in the Americas, witnessed by President [George Washington](/source/George_Washington). Married to [Sophie Blanchard](/source/Sophie_Blanchard) in 1804, Blanchard suffered a fatal heart attack in his balloon in 1808, with his widow continuing balloon demonstrations until her accidental death.

## Biography

### 1784 – Flights in Paris

Blanchard made his first successful balloon flight in [Paris](/source/Paris) on 2 March 1784, in a hydrogen [gas balloon](/source/Gas_balloon) launched from the [Champ de Mars](/source/Champ_de_Mars). The first successful manned balloon flight took place on 21 November 1783, when [Pilâtre de Rozier](/source/Pil%C3%A2tre_de_Rozier) and the [Marquis d'Arlandes](/source/Marquis_d'Arlandes) took off at the [Palace of Versailles](/source/Palace_of_Versailles) in a free-flying [hot air balloon](/source/Hot_air_balloon) constructed by the [Montgolfier brothers](/source/Montgolfier_brothers). The first manned hydrogen balloon flight took place on 1 December 1783, when [Jacques Charles](/source/Jacques_Charles) and [Nicolas-Louis Robert](/source/Robert_brothers) launched the first [gas balloon](/source/Gas_balloon) from the [Jardin des Tuileries](/source/Tuileries_Palace) in Paris. Blanchard's flight nearly ended in disaster, when one spectator (Dupont de Chambon, a contemporary of [Napoleon](/source/Napoleon) at the École militaire de Brienne) slashed at the balloon's mooring ropes and oars with his sword after being refused a place on board. Blanchard intended to "row" northeast to [La Villette](/source/La_Villette%2C_Seine) but the balloon was pushed by the wind across the [Seine](/source/Seine) to [Billancourt](/source/Boulogne-Billancourt) and back again, landing in the rue de Sèvres. Blanchard adopted the Latin tag *[Sic itur ad astra](/source/Sic_itur_ad_astra)* as his [motto](/source/Motto).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

The early balloon flights triggered a phase of the public "[balloonomania](/source/Balloonomania)", with all manner of objects decorated with images of balloons or styled *au ballon*, from ceramics to fans and hats. Clothing *au ballon* was produced with exaggerated puffed sleeves, rounded skirts, or with printed images of balloons. Hair was coiffed *à la montgolfier*, *au globe volant*, *au demi-ballon*, or *à la Blanchard*.[1]

### 1784 – Flights in London

Blanchard moved to London in August 1784, where he took part in a flight on 16 October 1784 with [John Sheldon](/source/John_Sheldon_(anatomist)), just a few weeks after the first flight in Britain (and first outside France), when Italian [Vincenzo Lunardi](/source/Vincenzo_Lunardi) flew from [Moorfields](/source/Moorfields) to [Ware](/source/Ware%2C_Hertfordshire) on 15 September 1784. Blanchard's propulsion mechanisms – flapping wings and a windmill – again proved ineffective, but the balloon flew some 115 kilometres (71 mi) from [Lewis Lochée](/source/Lewis_Loch%C3%A9e)'s military academy in [Little Chelsea](/source/Little_Chelsea), landing in [Sunbury](/source/Sunbury-on-Thames) and then taking off again to end in [Romsey](/source/Romsey). Blanchard took a second flight on 30 November 1784, taking off with an American, [John Jeffries](/source/John_Jeffries), from the [Rhedarium](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rhedarium) behind [Green Street](/source/Green_Street%2C_Mayfair)[2] [Mayfair, London](/source/Mayfair) to [Ingress](/source/Ingress%2C_Kent) in [Kent](/source/Kent).

### 1785 – First flight over the English Channel

Blanchard's Column at [Guînes](/source/Gu%C3%AEnes)

A column was erected at [Guînes](/source/Gu%C3%AEnes) to commemorate his crossing of the English Channel by hydrogen balloon on 7 January 1785. (Location:[50°50′31″N 1°52′02″E / 50.841997365°N 1.867341242°E / 50.841997365; 1.867341242 (Jean-Pierre Blanchard)](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Jean-Pierre_Blanchard&params=50.841997365_N_1.867341242_E_&title=Jean-Pierre+Blanchard))

Under the reign of Louis XVI
MDCCLXXXV
Jean-Pierre Blanchard of Les  Andelys in Normandy
 accompanied by [Jean Jefferies English](/source/John_Jeffries) (*[sic](/source/Sic)*)
 Leaving from Dover Castle
 in an Aerostat.
January 7th at a quarter past one,
 was the first to cross the air
 above Pas-de-Calais
and descended after three and a quarter hours
 in the very place where the inhabitants of Guines
 raised this column
to the glory of the two travellers.

These aeronauts were received on their descent by
P. Eliz Casin d'Honnincthun and Louis Marie Dufosse.
and taken to the castle of M.Le Vicomte Desandrouin
Chamberlain of the Emperor who laid the stone of this
 column on May 25, 1785.[Note 1]

A third flight, again with Jeffries, was the first flight over the [English Channel](/source/English_Channel), taking about 2½ hours to travel from England to France on 7 January 1785,[3][4][5] flying from [Dover Castle](/source/Dover_Castle) to [Guînes](/source/Gu%C3%AEnes). Blanchard was awarded a substantial pension by Louis XVI. The King ordered the balloon and boat be hung up in the church of [Église Notre-Dame de Calais](/source/%C3%89glise_Notre-Dame_de_Calais).[6] (A subsequent Channel crossing attempt in the opposite direction by [Pilâtre de Rozier](/source/Pil%C3%A2tre_de_Rozier) on 15 June 1785 ended unsuccessfully in a fatal crash.)[7]

### Flights in Europe

Blanchard toured Europe, demonstrating his balloons. He holds the record of first balloon flights in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. Among the events that included demonstrations of his abilities as a balloonist was the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor [Leopold II](/source/Leopold_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor) as [King of Bohemia](/source/King_of_Bohemia) in [Prague](/source/Prague) in September 1791.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Following the invention of the modern [parachute](/source/Parachute) in 1783 by [Sébastien Lenormand](/source/S%C3%A9bastien_Lenormand) in [France](/source/France), in 1785 Jean-Pierre Blanchard demonstrated it as a means of jumping safely from a balloon. While Blanchard's first parachute demonstrations were conducted with a dog as the passenger, he later had the opportunity to try it himself when in 1793 his hydrogen balloon ruptured and he used a parachute to escape. Subsequent development of the parachute focused on making it more compact. While the early parachutes were made of linen stretched over a wooden frame, in the late 1790s, Blanchard began making parachutes from folded silk, taking advantage of silk's strength and light weight.

### 1793 – Flights in America

On 9 January 1793, Blanchard conducted the first balloon flight in the Americas.[8] He launched his balloon from the prison yard of [Walnut Street Jail](/source/Walnut_Street_Jail) in [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania) and landed at the [Clement Oak](/source/Clement_Oak) in [Deptford Township, New Jersey](/source/Deptford_Township%2C_New_Jersey). One of the flight's witnesses that day was President [George Washington](/source/George_Washington), and the future presidents [John Adams](/source/John_Adams), [Thomas Jefferson](/source/Thomas_Jefferson), [James Madison](/source/James_Madison), and [James Monroe](/source/James_Monroe) were also present. Blanchard left the United States in 1797.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Personal life and death

He married Marie Madeleine-Sophie Armant (better known as [Sophie Blanchard](/source/Sophie_Blanchard)) in 1804. On 20 February 1808 Blanchard had a [heart attack](/source/Heart_attack) while in his balloon at [The Hague](/source/The_Hague). He fell from the balloon and died roughly a year later on 7 March 1809 due to severe injuries. His widow continued to support herself with ballooning demonstrations until doing so also killed her.[9]

## Pictures

		- Airship designed by Jean-Pierre Blanchard, 1784

		- Crossing of the [English Channel](/source/English_Channel) by Blanchard and Jeffries on 7 January 1785.

		- Crossing of the [English Channel](/source/English_Channel) by Blanchard in 1785.

		- [Walnut Street Jail](/source/Walnut_Street_Jail), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Blanchard launched his 9 January 1793 American flight from the prison yard.

		- La 14e expérience aérostatique de Monsieur Blanchard accompagné du Chevalier Lépinard, Lille, 26 août 1785, painting by [Louis Joseph Watteau](/source/Louis_Joseph_Watteau)

		- Blanchard and Jeffries Crossing the English Channel in 1785

## See also

- [List of firsts in aviation](/source/List_of_firsts_in_aviation)

- [Timeline of hydrogen technologies](/source/Timeline_of_hydrogen_technologies)

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Original text of Blanchard's Column at [Guînes](/source/Gu%C3%AEnes): Sous le régné de Louis XVI MDCCLXXXV, Jean-Pierre Blanchard des Andelys en Normand, Accompagne de Jean Jefferies Anglais, Partit du chateau de Douvre dans un Aérostat, Le VII Janvier a une heure un quart, traversa le prémier les airs au dessus de Pas-de-Calais, et descendit de trois heures trois quarts dans le lieux même ou les habitants de Guînes. Ont élevé cette colonne À la gloire des deux voyageurs. Ces aeronauts en été recus à leur descent par P. Eliz Casin d'Honnincthun et Louis Marie Dufossé, Et conduits au château de M.Le Vicomté Desandrouin, Chambellan de L'Empereur qui a posé la pierre de cette colonne le 25 Mai 1785.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080229022811/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/pdf/Ballons_e.pdf) (PDF). Archived from [the original](http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/pdf/Ballons_e.pdf) (PDF) on 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2007-07-25.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_archived_copy_as_title))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** "The Rhedarium had been built as military stables in 1738 and then sold, in 1784, to be used as a coach manufact by a Mr. Murdoch MacKenzie." (Blog: *The Early London Gas Industry: The Rhedarium*); see [*The Survey of London,*, vol 40: The Green Street Area, Introduction](http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42132), and [*ibid* "Wood's Mews"](http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42138).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-EB_4-0)** [Blanchard, Jean-Pierre-François](http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9015591). (subscription required) *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica)* Online. Retrieved 2009-10-17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Morison_5-0)** [Morison, Samuel Eliot](/source/Samuel_Eliot_Morison) (1965). *The Oxford History of the American People*. New York: Oxford. p. 286.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-HistoryChannel_6-0)** ["1785: Across the English Channel in a balloon"](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/across-the-english-channel-in-a-balloon). *[The History Channel](/source/The_History_Channel)*. Retrieved 27 May 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Canterbury. Extract of an authentic Letter from Dover. Jan. 20, 1785"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000235/17850122/010/0004). *Kentish Gazette*. England. 22 January 1785. Retrieved 13 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHolmes2008148−155_8-0)** [Holmes 2008](#CITEREFHolmes2008), pp. 148−155.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Beischer1962_9-0)** Beischer, DE; Fregly, AR (1962). ["Animals and man in space. A chronology and annotated bibliography through the year 1960"](http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/9288). *US Naval School of Aviation Medicine*. ONR TR ACR-64 (AD0272581). Retrieved 2011-06-14.{{[cite journal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_journal)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Her death is described in detail, with multiple citations, in the Wikipedia article about her.

- Holmes, Richard (2008). *The age of wonder*. New York: Vintage Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4000-3187-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4000-3187-0).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Jean-Pierre Blanchard](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Jean-Pierre_Blanchard).

- [Journal of Jean-Pierre Blanchard's forty-fifth ascension, being the first performed in America, on January 9, 1793 (1918)](https://archive.org/details/fortyfifthasc00blanrich)

- [Further information with images about Blanchard's life and flight across the Channel](http://www.normandythenandnow.com/the-rampant-ambition-of-blanchard-the-balloonist-from-petit-andelys/)

v t e Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey 1970s 1973 Amelia Earhart / Charles A. Lindbergh / Clyde Pangborn / Floyd Bennett / Clarence Duncan Chamberlin / Wittemann brothers 1974 Anthony Fokker 1975 Bernt Balchen / Juan Terry Trippe 1976 Bert Blanchard Acosta / Ivan R. Gates / Arthur Godfrey 1978 Kay A. Brick 1980s 1980 Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. / Solomon Andrews / Boland brothers / Arthur Raymond Brooks / Charles E. Rosendahl / Gill Robb Wilson 1981 Robert Nietzel Buck / Kenneth Russell Unger 1982 Leo Loudenslager / Thomas McGuire / Walter M. "Wally" Schirra 1983 Herbert O. Fisher 1984 Robert J. Collier 1985 Malcolm S. Forbes / Thor Solberg 1987 Paul E. Garber / Oliver George Simmons / Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan 1988 Frederick Walker Castle / William Halsey Jr. / Ruth Rowland Nichols 1989 Charles Joseph Fletcher / Donald J. Strait / Stanley Switlik 1990s 1990 Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr. 1993 Jean-Pierre Blanchard 1994 Selma Cronan 1996 Vincent Justus Burnelli / T. J. O'Malley 1997 Anne Morrow Lindbergh / Kenneth A. Walsh / James Hart Wyld 1998 Richard E. Byrd 1999 Terry Jonathan Hart 2000s 2000 Bernice Falk Haydu / Herb Kelleher 2001 Isaac Schlossbach 2002 Oliver Colin LeBoutillier / Barry Schiff 2006 Donald A. Luscombe / Calvin J. Spann / George Augustus Vaughn Jr. 2010s 2010 Aline Rhonie

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Netherlands People Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Open Library SNAC Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jean-Pierre Blanchard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Blanchard) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Blanchard?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.