Samuel Archer King

Samuel Archer King (9 April 1828 in Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania – 3 November 1914 in Philadelphia) was a ballooning pioneer in the United States.

Early interest

When a boy, he was fond of climbing to the greatest heights possible, to satisfy his passion for viewing extended landscapes. Soon after attaining his majority, he constructed a balloon. His first ascension was made on 25 September 1851 from Philadelphia. In consequence of a scant supply of gas, it proved only a partial success, and he received rough treatment in the tree tops and in being dragged up the Schuylkill River and over the dam. A second attempt produced a successful voyage across Philadelphia, far into New Jersey.

Ascension experiences

He then made numerous expeditions from various places in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 1855 he made several ascensions from Wilmington, Delaware, and on 16 June 1856, ascended from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, but in descending was dashed to the earth and rendered insensible. During 1856-57 he made ascensions from Providence, Rhode Island, and other places in New England, and, on 15 August, he went up from New Haven, Connecticut, in his balloon “Queen of the Air,” which subsequently became famous from his ascensions made from Boston.

At an ascension on 1 September 1858, he experimented with the use of a drag rope as a guide. In starting, he allowed 75 pounds of rope to trail along the ground. As the balloon gradually became heated by the sun, its buoyant power was increased without discharging ballast, and by the time five miles had been traversed the rope was lifted from the ground, and it continued to be lifted until a height of two miles had been reached. After a passage of nearly thirty miles, the drag rope was detached, and he continued a similar distance farther.

In June 1859, he made an ascension from

Charlestown, Massachusetts, landing in Belmont, and on 4 July following he made an ascension from Boston. On another occasion he ascended from Boston Common with a party, and alighted in Melrose

, where a long rope was procured, and he treated some of the passengers to a bird's-eye view of the village by moonlight. While the balloon, with five young women, was in the air, it escaped, but after a few miles the descent was safely made.

On 4 July 1868, he made an ascent from

pine tree

, the top branches of which caught the anchor. The rope being comparatively short, the party were not able to reach the ground. The night was dark, and the nature of the surface beneath them was unknown, so they concluded to remain all night in the tree. When daylight came, the anchor rope was cut loose and the balloon landed with perfect safety.

On 19 October 1869, King ascended from

Cazenovia

.

During a subsequent series of ascensions in the southern states, King had many strange experiences; the people, unfamiliar with such sights, were at a loss to account for his strange descent from the clouds. In February 1870, he ascended from Augusta, Georgia, and after a journey of 130 miles descended, although not until his balloon had become injured and he had been precipitated to the ground from a height of nearly 60 feet. In July 1872, he ascended from Boston Common, and was carried out to sea, but, after descending until the drag rope trailed through the water, a yacht was met with and the rope tied to its mast. The balloon soon towed the vessel in to the shore and landed.

Scientific interest

King always claimed that the study of

Daily Graphic balloon, the services of King were called in, and it was through his efforts that the launching was made. (See the article on Washington Harrison Donaldson.) An important excursion was made on 4 July 1874, in King's balloon “Buffalo” from the city of that name. The start was made in the afternoon, the balloon was carried southward during the night, and, following the course of the Susquehanna River until the next morning, the party found themselves over Havre de Grace, Maryland, and as the sun rose a large part of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey

was seen. Later a descent was made in New Jersey.

In September of the same year an ascension was made from

Port Huron

, after having traversed a distance of nearly 500 miles. On a trip made in July, 1875, with the “Buffalo,” he carried a photographer with him, who took numerous views of cloud effects, and the journey proved of special interest, as they passed through a series of thunderstorms, which they watched from beginning to end.

In April 1877, he made several short trips from

Manayunk

.

King led the way in the scientific study of the means of air navigation and in the photographing of objects, especially towns and cities, from the air.[1]

Publicity

King's early interest in ballooning created interest in others, so that balloon ascensions became features of expositions, traveling shows and other affairs in which many people were collected together. During the United States centennial year of 1876, King made several excursions of various lengths from Philadelphia, where the Centennial Exposition was located. Over the subsequent years the publicity generated by King and other balloonists during frequent demonstration ascensions led to an increase in the general interest in the navigation of the air.

King made ascents from nearly all the cities of the eastern United States, having in all made over 450^[2] voyages through the air, traversing all the continental United States east of the Mississippi River, and much that is west of that river.

He was married to Margaret Roberts and had two children. He died as the world's oldest balloonist.^[2]

Publications

The Balloon: Noteworthy Aerial Voyages from the Discovery of the Balloon to the Present Time, with a Narrative of the Aeronautic Experiences of Mr. Samuel A. King (1879)
“How to cross the Atlantic in a Balloon,” Century Magazine
, October, 1901.

Notes

^ Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "King, Samuel Archer" . Encyclopedia Americana.
^
doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.2000544
. (subscription required)

References

Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1892). "King, Samuel Archer" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.

[ac-1] Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "King, Samuel Archer" . Encyclopedia Americana.

[anb-2] 
doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.2000544
. (subscription required)

[2]

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