Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2011) |
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 15 June 1785 | (aged 31)
Nationality | French |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Chemistry, Physics |
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (French pronunciation:
Early life
He was born in
He returned to Paris, where he was put in charge of Monsieur's
Flight pioneer
In June 1783, he witnessed the first public demonstration of a
After several
Along with
Rozier took part in a further flight on 23 June 1784, in a modified version of the Montgolfiers' first balloon christened La Marie-Antoinette after the queen, which took off in front of the King of France and King
Final flight
De Rozier's next plan was an attempt to cross the English Channel from France to England. A Montgolfier balloon would not be up to the task, requiring large stocks of fuel for the hot air, so his balloon, the Rozière balloon, was a combination of a hydrogen and hot air balloon. It was prepared in the autumn of 1784, but the attempt was not launched until after another Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, and his American companion, Dr. John Jeffries, flew across the channel in a hydrogen gas balloon from England to France on 7 January 1785.
Despite several attempts, De Rozier and his companion Pierre Romain were not able to set off from Boulogne-sur-Mer until 15 June 1785. At the take off, a nobleman tried to climb in the balloon with them, but Rozier persuaded him not to, saying it was too dangerous. After making some progress, a change of wind direction pushed them back over land some 5 km from their starting point. According to contemporary accounts, the balloon caught fire in midair before suddenly deflating and crashing near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais, from an estimated height of 450 m (1,500 ft).[1] Both occupants were killed. Eight days later, his former fiancée died, possibly having committed suicide. A commemorative obelisk was later erected at the site of the crash.[2] The King had a medal struck and gave his family a pension.
The modern hybrid gas and hot air balloon is named the Rozière balloon after his pioneering design.
See also
- List of firsts in aviation
- Timeline of hydrogen technologies
- List of inventors killed by their own inventions
References
- ^ "Northampton Mercury". 27 June 1785. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier et Pierre-Ange Romain - Wimereux le 15 Juin 1785 | Aérostèles". www.aerosteles.net (in French). Retrieved 2020-12-13.
- Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond (1783, 1784) Description des expériences de la machine aérostatique de MM. Montgolfier, &c.
- Simon Schama (1987) Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, p. 123-31.
Further reading
- Wonderful Balloon Ascents, Part 2, Chapter 10 (1870) by Camille Flammarion has an account of Rozier's final flight.