Élisabeth Thible
Élisabeth Thible, or Tible, born in Lyon was an otherwise unknown French opera singer who was the first woman on record to ride in a hot air balloon.[1][2][3]
On June 4, 1784, only eight months following the first manned balloon flight, Thible took her place with Mr. Fleurant on board a hot air balloon christened La Gustave in honour of King Gustav III of Sweden's visit to Lyon.
In the original preparations for the flight, the pilot, a Monsieur Fleurant, had prepared to travel with Count Jean-Baptiste de Laurencin (1740–1812), who had been one of the six subscribed passengers on the experimental flight on the huge Montgolfier balloon called the Flesselles after Jacques de Flesselles the promoter of the subscription list, on January 19 of that year. The only flight that Joseph Montgolfier would pilot, the twelve-minute flight ended dramatically when the balloon started to tear and smoulder. Although all six passengers and the pilot, were unhurt, some attribute cold feet to the count following the accident as the reason he gave Élisabeth Thible his spot on The Gustave.
As soon as the balloon left the ground, Fleurant and Thible, dressed as the Roman goddess Minerva, sang two duets from Monsigny's La Belle Arsène, a celebrated opera of the time. A crowd was present for the lift off, many of whom assisted the ascent. The flight lasted 45 minutes, travelled four kilometres and achieved an estimated height of 1500 meters. The flight was witnessed by Gustav III. During the landing, which was typically bumpy, Thible turned an ankle when the balloon's basket hit the ground. She was credited by Fleurent with the success of the flight both because she fed the balloon's fire box en route and by exhibiting her remarkable courage.[4]
Little is known of Madame Thible, she is described as the abandoned spouse "épouse délaissée" of a Lyon merchant.[5] No record of her survives as a professional opera singer.
Notes
- ↑ Gene Nora Jessen, The Powder Puff Derby of 1929, pg xi
- ↑ Ernst Probst Königinnen der Lüfte in Frankreich 2010 Page 61 "Élisabeth Thible Die erste Passagierin einer Montgolfière Die erste Frau, die in einer Montgolfière in die Luft abhob, war die französische Opernsängerin Élisabeth Thible, nach anderer Schreibweise auch Tible."
- ↑ Justin D. Murphy -Military Aircraft, Origins To 1918 2005 - Page 6 "In February 1784, Paolo Andreani, Agostino Gerli, and Carlo Gerli ascended in a Montgolfière outside Milan. On 4 June 1784, Élisabeth Thible became the first female aeronaut when she ascended over Lyons."
- ↑ Gazette d’Amsterdam, June 25, 1784 and Journal des savants, November 1784, pp. 760-762
- ↑ Philippe Buron Pilâtre Pilâtre de Rozier: un Lorrain d'exception, 1754-1785 2006 - "Visiblement encore choqué par sa première expérience, Laurencin trouve habile de proposer à la très belle Madame Elisabeth Thible, épouse délaissée d'un grand commerçant de Lyon, de devenir la première femme aéronaute."