Louis A. Lauriat Balloon Ascensions – 1830s

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Herald Of The Times
(Newport, R. I.)
August 6, 1835

Herald of the Times
(Newport, R. I.)
July 30, 1835

Herald of the Times
(Newport, R. I.)
July 13, 1837

Vermont Phoenix
June 28, 1839

Staunton Spectator & General Advisor
(Staunton, Va.)
July 4, 1839

Click here to learn more about Louis Lauriat

Click here for Lauriant’s Providence balloon ascension

Harlow M. Spencer – Aeronaut, Balloonist

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The Daily Exchange
(Baltimore, MD.)
September 22, 1858

Worcester Daily Spy
April 2, 1859

Lamoille Newsdealer
(Hyde Park, VT.)
July 17, 1872

Lamoille Newsdealer
(Hyde Park, VT.)
July 17, 1872

Western Connecticut News
August 2, 1872

Connecticut Western News
September 2, 1897

Near Providence, RI – November 19, 1910

Near Providence, RI – November 19, 1910

     On November 19, 1910, the balloon Cleveland, took off from North Adams, Massachusetts, with five men aboard.  The craft was piloted by Leo Stevens, and carrying four Williams College students as passengers. 

     Strong winds on the ground delayed the ascension for nearly an hour, but when it finally took to the sky the balloon “shot up like a rocket” before being carried away in an easterly direction.  Three hours and thirty-five minutes later the balloon was over Rhode Island approaching Providence when it began to lose altitude.   Ballast was dropped, but the balloon continued to fall, and appeared to heading for a large lake.  The aeronauts were forced to strip off their clothing to lighten the weight in order to avoid a water landing.  The tactic worked, and the balloon sailed across the lake before crashing onto the far shore.

     Upon impact, one of the occupants, H.P. Scharman was pitched out and received serious injuries.  Thus relieved of significant weight, the balloon suddenly rose upwards leaving Scharman behind.  It then continued onward several hundred feet, propelled forward by heavy winds, before it slammed into a stone wall.  The crash sent the others tumbling out causing relatively minor injuries.    

Source: New York Times, “Balloon Up In Gale, Spills Aviators”, November 20, 1910

 

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