Balloon Ascension Day is an annual celebration observed on January the 9th to commemorate the first manned balloon flight to ever take place in America.
The first balloon ascension event in our country was witnessed by President George Washington, who was a patron of aviation pioneers. He was fascinated by the tales of the Frenchman, Jean-Paul Blanchard, who pioneered hot air ballooning and was keen to help him do so in America. Jean-Paul Blanchard did not speak English, when he landed on American soil.
Blanchard was a French aeronaut and inventor who, in 1793, made the first manned balloon trip in America. He is generally regarded as the inventor of balloon flight. Balloon Ascension Day was initiated on the same date he took to the sky on January 9th 1793.
If you would like to read more, please click onto the below NATIONAL TODAY Holiday link.
Sad to say, Jean-Paul Blanchard, died in 1808, after falling from his balloon above The Hague in the Netherlands.
Below are just a few photos taken during past Lake Havasu City Balloon Festivals.
One of the things I enjoyed about my commute into Napa was seeing the early morning balloons. Every now and then they would get a little close to where I was and they were lovely. Not as fancy as some of the ones you see, Cap, but I enjoyed them. I felt like a little kid.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathleen so very much for your comment. So sorry to be so very slow replying to you. I don't think that I ever saw a Hot Air Balloon during the years I lived in San Francisco. Any Hot Air Balloon Kathleen is a hoot and a holler. Smiles.. Cap and Patti about to see a lot of them this next week of January the 22nd to the 25th good (low winds) weather permitting.
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