John Jeffries (1796-1876) was an ophthalmic surgeon and co-founded the Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. 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
Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival festival's first volunteer and a tree was also planted on site in her honor in conjunction of the festival's 20th Anniversary which also honored the founder of the festival. After that event, he never piloted a hot-air balloon and left his general manager spot of the Festival afterwards - some speculations were that the new city of Gatineau administration of Yves Ducharme tried to force him out of the job by offering a spot for the new city as chief of communications. He was handled that position for a few months during rehabilitation, but the position was later removed and