2012 Event Australian daredevil Felix Baumgartner breaks the world record for human ascent by balloon by space diving 128,100 feet out of the Red Bull Stratos helium-filled balloon over Roswell, New Mexico 2012 Event Eleven people are killed when their hot air balloon collides with a power line and crashes near Carterton, New Zealand 1995 Event Steve Fossett completes 1st air balloon over Pacific Ocean (9600 km) 1989 Event 2 hot-air balloon crash at Alice Springs Australia, 13 killed 1987 Event 2 men became 1st hot-air balloon travelers to cross Atlantic 1984 Event Joe Kittinger completes 1st solo balloon crossing of Atlantic 1981 Event 1st balloon crossing of Pacific is completed, Double Eagle V 1981 Death Jeannette Ridlon Piccard, 1st U.S. woman free balloon pilot, dies 1980 Event Julian Nott sets world hot-air balloon altitude record (16,806 m) 1980 Event 1st trans-U.S. balloon crossing 1980 Event 1st nonstop crossing of U.S. via balloon (Maxie Anderson and son Chris) 1978 Event 1st successful crossing of the Atlantic by balloon (3 Americans) 1972 Event 1st hot air balloon flight over Alps 1969 Death James Lanphier, actor (Flight of Lost Balloon), dies at 48 1966 Death Nicholas Piantanida, sets balloon flight record and dies in descent 1961 Event Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather reach 34,668 m (record) in balloon 1960 Event Joseph Kittinger parachutes from balloon at 31,330 m (84,700') 1957 Event U.S. Major David Simons reaches 30,933m in a balloon 1957 Event David Simons reaches 30,942 m in Man High 2 balloon 1955 Birthday Jeff Koons, born in York, Pennsylvania, artist, known for large reproductions of ordinary objects, including brightly colored balloon animals made of stainless steel 1948 Event U.S. balloon reaches height of 42.7 km (record) 1939 Birthday Barbara Luna, born in New York City, actress, 5 Weeks in a Balloon, Gentle Savage 1935 Event Explorer 2 balloon sets altitude record of 72,000 feet over SD 1934 Event Jean Piccard and Jeanette Ridlen attain balloon height of 17.341 m (rec) 1932 Event Auguste Piccard/Max Cosijns reach 16,201m in a balloon 1931 Event Piccard and Knipfer make 1st flight into stratosphere, by balloon 1930 Event Remains of Solomon Andrees' balloon expedition to North Pole in 1897, found at Kvit oya Spitsbergen 1927 Event 1st balloon flight over 40,000 feet (Scott Field, Ill) 1920 Birthday James Lanphier, New York, actor, Flight of Lost Balloon 1910 Event 1st Movie stunt: man jumps into Hudson river from a burning balloon 1909 Event 1st balloon honeymoon (Roger Burham and Eleanor Waring) 1897 Event Solomon Andree leaves Spitsbergen by balloon towards North Pole 1885 Death Fred Burnaby, English colonel/balloon pioneer, dies in battle 1874 Event Mary Walsh and Charles Colson are 1st couple to be married in a balloon 1870 Event Jules Janssen, flys in a balloon in order to study a solar eclipse 1870 Event Leon Gambetta flees Paris in balloon 1860 Event 1st aerial photo taken in U.S. (from a balloon), Boston 1859 Event 1st air mail (in a balloon) took off from Lafayette Ind 1859 Birthday J Arthur S Berson, Austria meteorologist, Balloon flights, Amazon 1859 Event Balloon covers a record 809 miles over St. Louis 1858 Event Nadar takes 1st airborne photo, in a balloon 1830 Event Charles Durant, 1st U.S. aeronaut, flies a balloon from Castle Garden, New York City to Perth Amboy, New Jersey 1797 Event Andre-Jacques Garnerin makes 1st parachute jump from balloon (Paris) 1793 Event 1st hot-air balloon flight in the U.S. lifts off in Philadelphia 1793 Event Jean Pierre Blanchard makes 1st balloon flight in North America 1785 Event 1st manned flight by gas balloon in Netherlands 1785 Event 1st balloon flight across English Channel (Blanchard and Jeffries) 1784 Event 1st U.S. balloon flight, 13 year old Edward Warren 1784 Event Mme Thible becomes 1st woman to fly, in a balloon 1784 Event 1st balloon flight in Ireland 1783 Event Charles and M N Roberts ascend 2,000' in hydrogen balloon 1783 Event J van North launches unmanned balloon 1783 Event Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis d'Arlandes make 1st free balloon flight 1783 Event 1st hydrogen balloon flight (unmanned); reaches 900 m altitude 1783 Event Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier make 1st public balloon flight 1783 Event Montgolfier brothers launch 1st hot-air balloon, unmanned 1753 Birthday Jean-Pierre-Francois Blanchard, 1st balloon flights in England, US 1709 Event 1st known ascent in hot-air balloon, Bartolomeu de Gusmao (indoors)
