Augusta, Maine – July 4, 1892
On July 4, 1892, a female aeronaut identified as “Madame Patti” was scheduled to make a balloon ascension at Augusta, Maine. The balloon rose briefly before it fell into the swift flowing Kennebec River where Madame Patti became entangled in the rigging. Fortunately she was rescued and brought to shore where it reportedly took thirty minutes to reviver her.
Source: Burlington Weekly Free Press, (Burlington, VT.), “Came Down In The Kennebec”, July 7, 1892