Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier the autumn of 1784, but the attempt was not launched until after another Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, and American companion, Dr John Jeffries, flew across the English Channel in a hydrogen gas balloon on 7 January 1785, from England to France. Despite several attempts, De Rozier and his companion, Pierre Romain, were not able to set off from Boulogne-sur-Mer until 15 June 1785. After making some progress, a change of wind direction pushed them back to land some 5 km from their starting point. The balloon suddenly deflated (without the envelope catching fire) and crashed near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais, from
Sophie Blanchard and Blanchard's story were relegated to the margins of aviation history. A novel inspired by Blanchard's story, Linda Donn's "The Little Balloonist", was published in 2006. a. As Comte de Provence, Louis had earlier been a patron of balloon pioneer Pilâtre de Rozier, who had been the victim of the first fatal ballooning accident on 15 June 1785. b. Most sources do not mention the number of the house but some say number 15 or number 16, and some claim the building was a hotel. </div> Sophie Blanchard Sophie Blanchard (25 March 1778 – 6 July 1819), commonly referred to