Talk by local historian Mark Davies on the hot-air balloon ascents from Leeds by celebrated aeronauts of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Balloonatics comes to Leeds City Library on Wednesday 12 May, a talk by local historian Mark Davies on the hot-air balloon ascents that took place from Leeds in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It's a bit of local history that doesn't get much airtime, and the names involved are a good starting point: Vincent Lunardi, the first man ever to fly in Britain; Windham Sadler, son of the first Englishman to fly; and Charles Green, the most famous and active British balloonist of the 19th century, whose flights drew huge crowds.
Green's passenger on a second ascent was Jane Stocks, described as 'the most enterprising heroine of her day'. The talk follows the story of these intrepid, inventive and courageous individuals, and it's a chapter of Leeds' past that's rarely told but should intrigue, inspire and inform. It's the kind of thing you don't usually come across unless you're looking for it.
Mark Davies is an Oxford local historian, guide and author with a particular interest in the non-University history of the city. His book King of all Balloons is a biography of James Sadler, the Oxford pastry cook and unlikely first Englishman to fly, and his balloonist son Windham. Copies of the book will be available at the talk.
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So, if you've got a thing for the early days of flight, or just for the odd, overlooked corner of local history, this is one for you. It's on Wednesday 12 May at Leeds City Library.
