Accident to the Nassau Balloon, between Gravesend and the Nore
Dates
- Creation: 1850 July
Conditions Governing Use
Access to the Theodore Newton Vail Collection of Aeronautical Images, Broadsides and Clippings is not authorization to publish. Separate written application for permission to publish must be made to the Institute Archives. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Green (1785-1870) was one of the 19th century’s most celebrated aeronauts. He made over 500 ascents in his career, primarily in his native England. These ascents included the first voyage in a balloon filled with coal-gas. Most of Green’s ascents were made in his Royal Vauxhall Balloon, built in August, 1836. Among these was an 18 hour, 480 mile journey undertaken in November 1836 from Vauxhall Gardens in London to Nassau in Germany. Green was accompanied on this record-breaking trip by Robert Hollond and Monck Mason. Thereafter, the Vauxhall Balloon was known as the “Nassau” or “Royal Nassau” balloon. The details of this trip are written in Monck Mason’s "Aeronautica" (1838). In 1840 Green proposed a cross-Atlantic flight which generated much publicity but never took place. Charles Green was also involved in the tragic death of amateur parachutist Robert Cocking, whose fatal descent was made from the Nassau balloon piloted by Green. He retired from ballooning in 1852.
Language of Materials
English
Existence and Location of Originals
Box 13
Physical Description
Other
Dimensions
17.9 x 24.3 cm(at longest/widest)
General Note
Clipping of an article from "The Illustrated London News" about Charles Green's balloon accident and descent in the water near Gravesend, Kent on July 5, 1850. An accompanying illustration on the back side of the page shows the Royal Nassau Balloon mostly deflated, descending in the river.
General Note
Crouch, Tom D., The Eagle Aloft, Two Centuries of the Balloon in America (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1983), 178.
Hodgson, J.E., History of Aeronautics in Great Britain (Oxford University Press, London, 1924), 241-262.
Rolt, L.T.C., The Aeronauts: A History of Ballooning 1783-1903 (Walker, New York, 1966), 118, 121-130.
Subject
- Rush, Mr., active 1838-1851 (Person)
- Green, Charles, 1785-1870 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Libraries. Department of Distinctive Collections Repository
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
Building 14N-118
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02139-4307 US
distinctive-collections@mit.edu
