William Temple Franklin British peace commissioners if something could be done for his father. He noted his father's steadfast defense of the Stamp Act, and hoped that the British government might award him a diplomatic post. During 1784, Temple went to London and reconciled with his father, lengthening his stay several times before returning to Paris at the end of the year. In January 1785, Temple received the first airmail in history when a letter from his father was brought across the English Channel by a hot air balloon flown by Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries. When Benjamin Franklin relinquished his post and
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