Aeronaut who, with the U.S. physician John Jeffries, made the first aerial crossing of the English Channel and was the first man to make balloon flights in England and in North America.
Blanchard spent much time during the 1770s trying to build a flying machine, but when he heard of the flights of the Montgolfier brothers in Annonay, France, his interest turned to balloons.
On March 2, 1784, in Paris, Blanchard made his first ascent, and later that year he made the first ascent over England. Accompanied by Jeffries, he took off from Dover on Jan. 7, 1785, and though they had to throw everything overboard to remain airborne, they made a successful landing on the French coast near Calais. The first international airmail was carried on this flight.
In 1785 Blanchard used a parachute to drop a dog from a balloon. He later made parachute frops himself. He was one of the first balloonists to attempt to achieve manoeuvrability and propulsion in balloons by using sails, but he had no success.
After making many exhibition flights in Europe, Blanchard made the first balloon flight over the North American continent on Jan. 9, 1793, taking off from the Washington prison yard in Philadelphia and landing on Gloucester County, New Yersey.
He returned to Europe and made many other successful flights, but he died in Paris soon after he fell from bis balloon at The Hague.
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