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IN THE NEWS
TOUR OF THE MONTH
ON THIS DAY IN LONDON
16th October 1987 175-kph winds cause blackout in London, much of southern England
16th October 1959 Born today: Gary Kemp, London, rock guitarist (Spandau Ballet-True)
16th October 1958 The first episode of children's TV show Blue Peter is aired on Television.
16th October 1951 Born today: Daniel Gerroll, London, actor (Big Business)
16th October 1936 Actor Peter Bowles was born in London.
16th October 1927 Born today: Lee Montague, London England, actor (Uncle Sasha-Holocaust)
16th October 1925 Murder She Wrote actress Angela Lansbury was born in London.
16th October 1922 Happy birthday to entertainer Max Bygraves, born in Rotherhithe, East London.
16th October 1834 London parliament catches fire historic documents burn
Balloonist Gleisher lived here
The pioneering weatherman and balloonist Glaisher lived here.
Location: 20 Dartmouth Hill, Blackheath, London
Description: James Glaisher (1809-1903) was a meteorologist & pioneer of weather forecasting, and pioneering balloonist.
In 1862 the British Association for the Advancement of Science decided to fund a series of flights to study the upper atmosphere. The balloons would have to fly as high as possible. Glaisher volunteered to perform these potentially dangerous flights. In all he made 28 ascents between 1862 and 1866, 13 of which were funded by the Association.
His usual pilot was the experienced balloonist Henry Coxwell (1819-1900). On their first ascent of 17 July 1862 they reached an altitude of 26,177 ft. without oxygen. On 5 September, in a balloon called the Mars, they managed an altitude in the region of 30,000 ft., although it almost cost them their lives. Glaisher lost consciousness and Coxwell had to climb up into the rigging to free a tangled valve line. His hands were so paralysed with cold that he had to pull the chord with his teeth in order to check their ascent. Had he failed to manage it, they would both surely have died of hypothermia or oxygen starvation.
In 1845, Glaisher published his dew point tables, for the measurement of humidity.
Glaisher was a founder member of the Meteorological Society (1850), and the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain (1866).
Aviation
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Link to This Page: http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location/638
Credits: http://www.thosemagnificentmen.co.uk/balloons/glaisher.html
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The pioneering weatherman and balloonist Glaisher lived here. |
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The Colonnade Town House», 8.4km
Faraday's Apprenticeship», 7.0km
The Adelaide Gallery», 5.6km
The Royal Institution», 6.3km
Joseph Priestley lived here», 5.8km
Sir Isaac Newton lived here», 6.0km
Edmund Halley's Tomb», 0.7km
Charles Darwin lived here», 6.4km
Bouncing Bomb inventor's house», 1.5km
Explorer Stuart lived here», 8.6km
mapping London's most interesting and unusual places and history
