Élisabeth Thible
Template:Infobox aviator Élisabeth Thible, or Elizabeth Tible[1] (Template:Nee, 8 March 1757 – 13 February 1785), was the first woman to make a flight in an untethered hot air balloon.[2][3][4] She was born in France in Lyon on 8 March 1757. On 4 June 1784, eight months after the first crewed balloon flight, Thible flew with Mr. Fleurant on board a hot air balloon christened La Gustave in honour of King Gustav III of Sweden's visit to Lyon.
Ballooning[edit | edit source]
Monsieur Fleurant originally planned to fly the hot air balloon with Count Jean-Baptiste de Laurencin, but the count gave his position on The Gustave to Élisabeth Thible.[5][Note 1]
When the balloon left the ground Thible, dressed as the Roman goddess Minerva, and Fleurant sang two duets from Monsigny's La Belle Arsène, a celebrated opera of the time. The flight lasted 45 minutes, covered 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), and achieved an estimated altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It was witnessed by King Gustav III of Sweden in whose honour the balloon was named. During the bumpy landing Thible turned an ankle as the basket hit the ground. She was credited by Fleurant with the success of the flight both because she fed the balloon's fire box en route and by exhibiting her remarkable courage.[5]
Private life[edit | edit source]
Little is known of Madame Thible; she is described as the abandoned spouse (épouse délaissée) of a Lyon merchant.[6] No record of her survives as a professional opera singer. She died in Paris on 13 February 1785.[7]
Film[edit | edit source]
- Venus im Wolkenschiff (Venus in the Cloud-ship) – WDR Fernsehen film by A. Reeker with Anouk Plany as Élisabeth Thible[8]
See also[edit | edit source]
- Sophie Blanchard – French balloonist (1778–1819)
Notes[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
Other sources[edit | edit source]
- Jutta Rebmann: Als Frau in die Luft ging. Die Geschichte der frühen Pilotinnen (Women went into the air. The history of the early pilots.) Sieglitz. Precinct. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>ISBN 3-7987-0361-2
- ↑
- ↑ Gene Nora Jessen, The Powder Puff Derby of 1929, pg xi.
- ↑ Ernst Probst, – Königinnen der Lüfte in Frankreich (Queens of the skies), France 2010, Page 61 "Élisabeth Thible (Tible) The first passenger of a Montgolfier".
- ↑ 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."
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gazette d'Amsterdam, 25 June 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."
- ↑ PERSONNAGE/Élisabeth Tible, une Lyonnaise en montgolfière. (2024) Retrieved 13 June 2024 from lyonnais.hypotheses.org
- ↑ Venus im Wolkenschiff. Ein Frauen-Traum vom Fliegen | Film. Retrieved 4 June 2022 from kinematoscope.org
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