Voting Station

Jean-Pierre Blanchard

Please vote to return to collections.

Aviator

The Resume

    (July 4, 1753-March 7, 1809)
    Born in Les Andelys, France
    Early balloonist
    With Dr. John Jeffries, made the first balloon crossing of the English Channel (January 7, 1785)
    Conducted the first balloon flight in North America (at Philadelphia, January 9, 1793)
    Also credited with the first balloon flights in Belgium, Holland, Germany and Poland
    Suffered a heart attack while ballooning and fell from the basket (February 20, 1808)
    Died of complications from his injuries a little over a year later

Why he might be annoying:

    He invented 'air oars' to steer a balloon against the wind. Unfortunately, they never worked.
    He tried to keep Dr. Jeffries -- who funded the voyage -- from crossing the Channel with him and sharing the glory.
    During the flight, their balloon developed a slow leak, forcing him and Jeffries to throw overboard all their ballast -- followed by the useless air oars, scientific instruments, their cargo, and most of their clothes.
    Despite receiving a pension from King Louis XVI, he was constantly in financial trouble due to mismanagement.
    He abandoned his first wife and four children to barnstorm around Europe.
    At one exhibition, he promised a man would parachute from a balloon and play a violin on the way down. When he jumped from only ten feet, getting off a handful of notes, the assembled crowd rioted.

Why he might not be annoying:

    During his first ever flight, he was stabbed by a spectator trying to force his way onto the balloon.
    He performed one of his flights as part of the coronation ceremony for Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (1791).
    He was responsible for a number of ballooning firsts.
    He gave the first public demonstration of a parachute (using a dog as the subject).
    He came up with the idea of using silk as a parachute material. (Earlier parachutes had been made of linen stretched over a wooden frame.)

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 94 Votes: 45.74% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 73.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 18 Votes: 11.11% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 120 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 19 Votes: 73.68% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying