John Wise: Father of American Ballooning

A portrait of the noted American aeronaut John Wise. Public Domain

Fifteen years before John Wise (1808–79) was born, Americans witnessed the country’s first flight. President George Washington was even on hand to watch as French aeronaut Jean Pierre Blanchard soared in his balloon above and away from a Philadelphia crowd. Wise was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a city west of Philadelphia. He grew up reading about the adventures of European balloonists, and though he apprenticed as a cabinetmaker and then became a piano builder, his head was always in the clouds.

One day, as a young boy, he climbed to the top of the local church with his pet cat. He had created his own parachute, and from the steeple of the church, he released his cat, watching as it slowly, and thankfully safely, floated to the ground. In 1822, he attempted something that appeared a little safer, but with adverse results. He created a small fire balloon, called a Montgolfier, which is powered by fire, typically a candle, placed inside of it. Although there was no cat attached, the Montgolfier struck the roof of a house, which caught on fire.

A model of a Montgolfier balloon at the London Science Museum. Public Domain

Wise continued creating and experimenting parachutes, kites, and anything else that could soar into the air. In 1827, he constructed a balloon out of muslin sheets coated in birdlime and linseed oil.

Ballooning, however, remained a hobby. His job as a piano builder took up most of his time. It was apparently a rather successful career, though, as it allowed him to save up enough money to create his first full-size hydrogen balloon.

First Flight and Scientific Endeavors

He had completed the balloon in 1835 and, by May, was prepared to take it up. He flew approximately nine miles from Philadelphia to Haddonfield, New Jersey. The success and thrill of the flight caused Wise to retire from piano-building and pursue ballooning professionally. While he enjoyed flying balloons, his pursuit of flight was dedicated to a more scientific approach. Wise journaled extensively about his flights.

His first scientific discovery came somewhat by accident. He had been wondering how a balloon would react after bursting in flight. With a large web of rope encasing the balloon, Wise presumed that a burst balloon would simply become a large parachute. He found out on Aug. 11, 1838, at a height of 13,000 feet, when his balloon abruptly exploded.

“The descent at first was rapid, and accompanied with a fearfully moaning noise, caused by the air rushing through the network, and the gas escaping above,” Wise wrote in his book “A System of Aeronautics.” “The weight of the car, however, countervailed the tilting tendency, giving it an oscillating motion, which it retained until it reached the earth.”

Wise rode the balloon’s car, a basket, until it struck the earth, tossing him about 10 feet from the crash. “Before many minutes had elapsed after this descent,” Wise recalled, “I had resolved to repeat the experiment, in Philadelphia, at the first opportunity.”

As Wise continued to make ascents, he noticed a consistent atmospheric change when he reached approximately 12,000 feet. In May of 1842, he journaled,  “It is now beyond a doubt in my mind established that a current from west to east in the atmosphere is constantly in motion within the height of 12,000 feet above the ocean.”

What Wise had discovered was what is now known as the jet stream.

The following year, Wise concocted a wild aspiration: cross the Atlantic Ocean by balloon. He requested an appropriation of $15,000 (about $640,000 today) from Congress to conduct the flight. His request was rejected. A few years later, during the Mexican-American War, he suggested bombing the Castle at Vera Cruz by way of balloon. The suggestion was either not received or ignored.

‘The Greatest Balloon Voyage’

On July 1, 1859, Wise assembled three others—the businessman O.A. Gager as a “scientific observer,” a news reporter from the Missouri Republican, and fellow-balloonist John LaMountain—to conduct a flight that would journey from St. Louis to New York.

The balloon was called The Atlantic, and it endured a most exciting adventure. As day turned into night and as the other men sat in the boat below the balloon car, Wise journaled about what he experienced: “The feeble shimmer of the new moon was now mantling the earth beneath in a mellow light, and the western horizon was painted with gold and purple. Nothing could exceed the solemn grandeur of the scene. All was quiet and still as death; not a word was passing from the lips of the crew; every one seemed to be impressed with the profound silence that hung around us.”

Soon that quiet would be gone, as the sun came up and with it a powerful storm. The men were flying over Lake Erie, nearing Buffalo, at a rate of about 60 miles per hour. The storm created a panic in the men, causing Wise to suggest landing in the lake in the hopes of being rescued by boat. The decision was roundly rejected by the others. Due to having expended much of their ballast, the men were not able to rise above the storm and therefore had to pray to avoid it. It was a race against time to reach the shore. As the storm whipped around them, the balloon reached speeds up to 90 miles per hour.

The Atlantic finally reached the shore, tore through a neighboring forest before lodging itself in a large tree. The balloon was ripped apart, but the men survived unharmed. Wise looked at the men and proclaimed, “And thus ends the greatest balloon voyage that was ever made.”

It very well may have been the greatest balloon voyage, but what was for certain was that Wise and his fellow riders had just accomplished the longest flight in American history, ranging from St. Louis to Henderson, New York. It would maintain the record for another 50 years.

A Fitting End

Wise starts the first airmail delivery in the United States on Aug. 17, 1859 from Lafayette, Ind. Public Domain

That same year on Aug. 17, Wise conducted the first airmail delivery in his balloon called The Jupiter. Although a strong wind blew him far off course, he dropped the sealed bag of 123 letters by parachute to the ground (though he was nowhere near his destination). A lone surviving letter is housed in the Smithsonian Institution. A century later, the historic flight was commemorated with a U.S. postage stamp. Two years later, he was briefly hired by the Bureau of Topographical Engineers as a Union balloonist during the Civil War.

During his 40-year career as an aeronaut, Wise made approximately 450 ascensions. He compiled his adventures in his book “Through the Air: A Narrative of Forty Years’ Experience as an Aeronaut.”

On Sept. 28, 1879, Wise met a tragic, though perhaps fitting death. At the age of 71, he, along with passenger George Burr, died during their flight above Lake Michigan. Burr’s body was recovered. Wise and his balloon were never found.

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