Sophie Blanchard
b. 1778, France; d. 1819, Paris
Madeléine-Sophie Blanchard, widow of the pioneer French balloonist Jean-Pierre-François Blanchard, continued her husband’s legacy and became the first female aeronaut. She took up flying in 1805 and her night flights, accompanied by a dazzling display of fireworks, became a popular attraction. In 1810, she performed at a celebration of Napoleon’s marriage to Marie-Louise of Austria. Blanchard made a total of fifty-nine ascents over a ten-year period before dying when her hydrogen balloon caught fire during one of her nighttime spectaculars in 1819.
Jules Porreau. Madame Blanchard (Madeleine Sophie Armand), 1859. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
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