Our editors are in the process of adapting several documented accounts of aviation history for our web audience. We will be adding pertinent excerpts to this section as time permits. The first of our adaptations, The First Balloon Ascent in England, is available for your reading enjoyment today.

Following are links to American History magazine articles covering the roles balloons have played in history and in our daily living.

Air War Over Virginia

Lowe, a famous balloonist from Ohio helps in the Civil War by maintaining aerial reconnaissance for the North.

Drop Poison Gas from a Balloon

This article presents recent evidence suggesting that the Confederates used balloons to drop poison gas into enemy camps during the Civil War.

First in America's Skies

Article accounting the first balloon launch in the USA at dawn on January 9, 1793. A gas balloon filled with hydrogen, piloted by French aeronaut Jean Pierre Blanchard, was launched outside the walls of the Walnut Street Prison that fronted on what is now Independence Square in Philadelphia .

Legacy in Flight

The first paragraph of this article is an account of the August 8, 1709 launch of the first miniature model of a hot air balloon.

Things That Get into the Garden

An author's recount of how all types of things get into a garden, including a hot air balloon!

Here are some more interesting articles on the history of ballooning.

Flying With Capt. Jack

Experience the thrill of ballooning from a pilot's point of view.

Ballooning to the Pole

Read about this 1897 historical adventure.

Scraping the Sky

Find out how Auguste Piccard and a companion become the first humans to reach the stratosphere.

First Balloon Crash

Where it happened and who was involved.