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https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/89baf468-c5e9-41c1-8be3-814758295981
Collection
John Wise and History of Ballooning Collection
Title
John Wise and History of Ballooning Collection
Object ID
MG0019
Date Range
1850-1993
became a famous aeronaut. Although balloon ascensions were common at county fairs and carnivals he had never observed an ascension before he made his first one in Philadelphia in 1835. John Wise completed 462 balloon ascensions including Lancaster ascensions from Penn Square and the prison yard. In the
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Collection
John Wise and History of Ballooning Collection
Title
John Wise and History of Ballooning Collection
Description
The John Wise and History of Ballooning Collection contains material about John Wise, a pioneering balloonist from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and the history of ballooning. Articles written by and about John Wise provide information about the man and his career. The bulk of Series 1 is correspondence, research notes, and drafts of "The John Wise Story," by John H. Andrews. Series 2 contains material about the ballooning hobby, other early aircraft, and the history of air mail.
Admin/Biographical History
As an adventurous and inquisitive young boy, John Wise was drawn to the skies above his native Lancaster County. He was fascinated by aerial pursuits and began to conduct experiments. He tied his cat to his homemade parachute and observed the cat's safe descent from a local church steeple.
A keen interest in ballooning developed and Wise became a famous aeronaut. Although balloon ascensions were common at county fairs and carnivals he had never observed an ascension before he made his first one in Philadelphia in 1835. John Wise completed 462 balloon ascensions including Lancaster ascensions from Penn Square and the prison yard.
In the nineteenth century many ascensions were made just for the novelty of the event, but John Wise's approach was from a scientific perspective. Each ascension gave him a chance to conduct scientific investigations of the atmosphere, pneumatics and hydrostatics.
It also gave him the opportunity to develop a more advanced flying machine. Wise was the first to observe the "great river of air which always blows from west to east" in the higher regions of the atmosphere. Today we call this phenomenon the jet stream. He also developed the ripcord safety mechanism.
John Wise promoted the advantages of balloon transportation. In 1843 he conceived a project for crossing the Atlantic Ocean and asked Congress to appropriate $15,000 for the project. Congress rejected the appropriation. Wise suggested a plan to bomb the Castle at Vera Cruz during the Mexican War and during the Civil War the Bureau of Topographical Engineers requested his services as a balloonist. He is credited with the first airmail transportation in 1859.
Detailed descriptions of his ascensions and experiments are found in his book, Through the Air, published in 1873. The last ascent of John Wise took place on September 29, 1879 from St. Louis, Missouri. This flight ended disastrously in Lake Michigan where his balloon fell and his remains lie.
Prepared by the Lancaster County Historical Society, ca. 1995.
System of Arrangement
This collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1 John Wise
Series 2 History of Ballooning
Date Range
1850-1993
Creation Date
1850-1993
Year Range From
1850
Year Range To
1993
Date of Accumulation
1850-1993
Creator
Andrews, John H.
Storage Location
LancasterHistory, Lancaster, PA
Storage Room
Archives South
Storage Wall
Side 01
People
Albertson, Catherine
Andrews, John Henry
Atkinson, S. C.
Bache, Hartman
Ball, Charles I.
Bartlett, Mrs. R. A.
Batchelder, Robert C.
Beckwith, A.
Beller, William
Black, J. W.
Blanchard, Jean Pierre
Blitzstein, Madelin
Bradbury, Ray
Brown, Elizabeth B.
Bruce, George
Burlingame, Roger
Burr, George
Byars, W. W.
Casey, Louis
Cessna, Clyde
Coffman, Ramon
Cornish, Joseph Jenkins, III
Cox, Palmer
Douty, Esther
Douty, Esther M.
Drepperd, Carl W.
Edwards, Vincent
Elvin, Thomas
Evans, William
Field, Francis J.
Fischer, Hans
Fleck, Glen
French, Melvin
Galzer, Emmett J.
Gambetta, Francis Leon
Greeley, A. W.
Grimm, Janet
Gryzewski, Tad
Halmi, Robert
Harrell, D. Tudor
Hautrive, M.
Hayden, F. Stansbury
Hopkins, Philip S.
Hunt, E. F.
Ingle, Harold E.
Kehr, Ernest A.
Keith, Barbara
Kessler, F. W.
Klein, Frederic S.
Kouwenhoven, John A.
Kreider, Ira
Kriebel, Robert C.
Kriebel, Robert G.
Lamorisse, Albert
LaPaz, Lincoln
Lindbergh, Charles
Lindquist, H. L.
Long, Elmer R.
Lundgren, Laura May Gross
Madsen, Peter
Maier, Alfred D.
Maxwell, George T.
McCloskey, Lores
McDevitt, William
Mills, James
Myers, Wilfred
Naves, Glen W.
Nicklin, John
Pasquarella, Gus
Peers, W.
Prevost, John W.
Roland, John
Rosenfeld, Albert
Sanabria, Nicolas
Schatvet, H. C.
Serviss, Garrett P.
Smith, Philip R., Jr.
Stehling, Kurt R
Steinmetz, Rollin
Stilphen, George F.
Taylor, Florence
Thompson, Howard
Topping, A.D.
Waitt, Robert
Warner, B. H.
Watson, Marion A.
Wetherill, Richard B.
Whipple, A. W.
Wilbur, W. H.
Wise, John
Wiseman, Frederick J.
Wolcott, Charles
Wolf, Constance
Woodruff, J. C.
Wright, Wilbur
Young, Pearl
Other Creators
Lancaster County Historical Society (Pa.)
Subjects
Hot air balloons
Hot air balloons--Launching
Airships
Aeronautics
Letters
Air mail service
Hindenburg (Airship)
Reconnaissance aircraft
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Search Terms
Aeronautics
Air mail service
Airships
Aviation
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Finding aids
Hindenburg (Airship)
Hot air balloons
Letters
Manuscript groups
Newspaper clippings
Obituaries
Reconnaissance aircraft
Extent
3 boxes, 40 folders, 1 scrapbook, 1 cubic ft.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
MG0019
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-19
Classification
MG0019
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
This collection was cataloged prior to 1997; added to database on 28 February 2018.
Documents
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Flying adventures in Lancaster 1924 to 1934

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo1837
Author
Terry, Edward J.
Date of Publication
1984
! During this period, flying was governed by the Pennsylvania �88/3, 1984 113 Bureau of Aeronautics and the Federal Bureau of Aeronautics—with conflicting rules. Pennsylvania said you could not fly an unlicensed air- craft—period. The Feds said an unlicensed person could fly an un- licensed plane any place
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Responsibility
by Edward J. Terry, Jr.
Author
Terry, Edward J.
Place of Publication
Lancaster, Pa
Publisher
Lancaster County Historical Society,
Date of Publication
1984
Physical Description
108-136 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Series
Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society ; v. 88, no. 3
Subjects
Airplanes.
Air pilots - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County.
Gliders (Aeronautics)
Contained In
Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. Volume 88, number 3 (1984), p. 108-136Lancaster History Library - Journal974.9 L245 v.88
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High frontier : a history of aeronautics in Pennsylvania

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo12959
Author
Trimble, William F.,
Date of Publication
c1982.
Call Number
629.13 T831
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Responsibility
William F. Trimble.
ISBN
0822953404 (pbk.)
Author
Trimble, William F.,
Place of Publication
Pittsburgh, Pa
Publisher
University of Pittsburgh Press,
Date of Publication
c1982.
Physical Description
xiv, 344 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Notes
Includes index.
Bibliography: p. 319-330.
Contents
Chapters: Aeronauts --- Inventors ---- Fliers --- Genesis of an Industry --- Decline and Revival --- Big Business and Aviation --- Troubled Skies --- Peace and War --- Postwar Readjustments and Progress --- The Aerospace Age
Summary
From the early days of hot air ballooning to supersonic aircraft, High Frontier chronicles the history of flight in Pennsylvania. Early experimentation with lighter-than-air craft in the nineteenth century was followed by significant advances in aerodynamics, the advent of the airplane, and its gradual acceptance by the public. The state had its own contingent of inventors and aviators, who flew and crashed their homemade machines in countless exhibitions. After World War I commercial flights took wing, including government airmail delivery, and expanded airports, federal and state regulation of aeronautics laid the groundwork for the growth of the industry. [from the publisher]
Subjects
Aeronautics - Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania - Aeronautical engineering industries, to 1980
Location
Lancaster History Library - Book
Call Number
629.13 T831
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A history of aeronautics in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo889
Author
Krantz, William E.
Date of Publication
1986
transportation, the legendary Jesse P. Jones settled in Lancaster and established the first real airport. Since that time, Lancaster has continued to have one of the best airports in this part of the United States. From the early balloon ascensions, to the present status of private and commercial air
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Responsibility
by William E. Krantz.
Author
Krantz, William E.
Place of Publication
Lancaster, Pa
Publisher
Lancaster County Historical Society,
Date of Publication
1986
Physical Description
118-189 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Series
Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society ; v. 90, no. 3
Summary
Contents: The John Wise era - 19th century, balloons; Aeroplanes visit Lancaster County beginning in 1911; Early commercial airfields; The Jones era (barnstormers); A municipally owned commercial airfield; War clouds (WWII); The Post War Years; The new enlarged Lancaster municipal airport. There is a bibliography
Subjects
Wise, John, - 1808-1879.
Lancaster Aero Club (Lancaster, Pa.)
Aeronautics - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County
Balloons - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County
Airports - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County.
Contained In
Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. Volume 90, number 3 (1986), p. 118-189Lancaster History Library - Journal974.9 L245 v.90
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Lancaster Airport, 50th Anniversary open house August 10-11, 1985

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/lhdo9670
Date of Publication
1985.
Call Number
387.736 L245
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Responsibility
edited by George F. Haskins.
Place of Publication
[S. l
Publisher
s.n.] ;
Date of Publication
1985.
Physical Description
32 p. ; ill. ; 28 cm.
Notes
Principal article: The story of air transportation in Lancaster County by William E. Krantz.
Includes advertisements.
Subjects
Krantz, William E.
Lancaster Aero Club (Lancaster, Pa.)
Airports - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County
Aeronautics - Pennsylvania - Lancaster County
Lancaster County (Pa.) - Biography.
Location
Lancaster History Library - Lancaster County
Call Number
387.736 L245
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