John Jeffries John Jeffries John Jeffries (5 February 1745 – 16 September 1819) was a Boston physician, scientist, and a military surgeon with the British Army in Nova Scotia and New York during the American Revolution. He is best known for accompanying Jean-Pierre Blanchard on his 1785 balloon flight across the English Channel. Born in Boston, Jeffries graduated from Harvard College and obtained his medical degree at the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Jeffries played a large role in the trial for the Boston Massacre as a witness for the defense. He was the surgeon for Patrick Carr, who was one of the
Hot air ballooning 1783. King Louis XVI had originally decreed that condemned criminals would be the first pilots, but de Rozier, along with Marquis Francois d'Arlandes, successfully petitioned for the honor. Modern hot air ballooning was born in 1960, when Ed Yost launched a balloon with a new nylon envelope and propane burner system of his own invention. Yost's first balloon was basketless, with nothing but a seat for him to ride on, but in a few years he and other balloon enthusiasts would develop balloons much like the ones used today. Today, hot air balloons are used primarily for recreation. According to