Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

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Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
Born(1754-03-30)30 March 1754
Metz, France
Died15 June 1785(1785-06-15) (aged 31)
Wimille, France
NationalityFrench
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry, Physics

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (French pronunciation:

air crash
.

Early life

He was born in

Louis XVI
.

He returned to Paris, where he was put in charge of Monsieur's

Marais quarter of Paris on 11 December 1781, where he undertook experiments in physics, and provided demonstrations to nobles. He researched the new field of gases, and invented a respirator
.

Flight pioneer

The first tethered balloon ascent on 15 October 1783 by Rozier

In June 1783, he witnessed the first public demonstration of a

Marquis d'Arlandes
agreed to accompany him. The king was persuaded to permit d'Arlandes and de Rozier to become the first pilots.

After several

outskirts
of Paris.

Marquis d'Arlandes
on 21 November 1783.

Along with

Gluck's opera, Iphigénie en Tauride
.

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

Gustav III of Sweden. Together with Joseph Proust, the balloon flew north at an altitude about 3,000 metres, above the clouds. They travelled 52 km in 45 minutes before cold and turbulence forced them to descend past Luzarches, between Coye and Orry-la-Ville, near the Chantilly forest
. They set records for speed, altitude, and distance travelled.

Fatal accident at Wimereux, 15 June 1785.

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.

Deaths of Rozier and Romain

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

References

  1. ^ "Northampton Mercury". 27 June 1785. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier et Pierre-Ange Romain - Wimereux le 15 Juin 1785 | Aérostèles". www.aerosteles.net (in French). Retrieved 2020-12-13.

Further reading


External links

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