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.
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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.
