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IN THE NEWS
TOUR OF THE MONTH
ON THIS DAY IN LONDON
20th April 1945 Born today: Jimmy Winston, London, organist (Samll Facres-Itchycoo Park)
20th April 1906 Australian wombat, oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at 26.
20th April 1904 George Bernard Shaw's Candida, premieres in London
20th April 1879 1st mobile home (horse drawn) used in a journey from London and Cyprus
20th April 1715 Nicholas Rowe's Tragedy of Lady Jane Gray, premieres in London
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
Ranking This Month: 1807/2798
Pages Hit This Month: 44
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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Sir Isaac Newton lived here», 6.0km
Bouncing Bomb inventor's house», 1.5km
The Royal Institution», 6.3km
World's 1st Business Computer», 8.9km
Faraday's Apprenticeship», 7.0km
The Adelaide Gallery», 5.6km
Advancing Geography», 7.4km
Charles Babbage was born here», 4.0km
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Explorer Stuart lived here», 8.6km
mapping London's most interesting and unusual places and history
