Charles Leroux (born as Joseph Johnson; 31 October 1856 in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

, United States – 24 September 1889 in Reval, Estland Governorate,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

) was an American

balloonist In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat that ...

and

parachutist Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

. He died on his 239th jump after a water landing in the

Tallinn Bay Tallinn Bay () is a bay in Estonia on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The Estonian capital city Tallinn is located on the southern coast of the bay. Tallinn Bay itself is divided into several parts: Tallinn Roadstead (), Kopli Bay, K ...

. One hundred years later, in 1989, a commemorative monument to Leroux was opened near his site of death in

Pirita Pirita is one of the eight administrative districts () of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pirita occupies a relatively large area, but compared to other districts of Tallinn its population of 17,592 (as of 1 November 2014) is relatively small. ...

, Tallinn.

Biography

Charles Leroux was born in the town of Waterbury,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He came to Europe in 1889 in order to demonstrate his skill in flying balloons and parachuting from them. He is known to have performed exhibition jumps in Germany (Berlin and

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

) and Russia (Moscow,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

). He was to conclude his European tour in Tallinn. Leroux's parachute jump in Tallinn, initially scheduled for 22 September 1889 was postponed for two days on account of high winds. On 24 September (12 September o.s.), however, the weather showed little improvement. Variable winds were accompanied with fine rain every now and then. After an angry argument with his manager, Leroux decided to go up. The balloon was inflated with lighting gas supplied by the local gas factory and it took off at 5 PM from a small elevation at a former bastion of Harjumägi in the city centre. Winds overpowered the balloon at once and quickly drove it towards the Tallinn Bay. Above the last houses of the town the balloonist dropped himself down from the suspended seat and began to descend under a properly inflated canopy. The winds, however, rocked the parachute violently and carried it farther out to sea. About a mile and quarter (2 km) off the coast the heavily oscillating parachute dropped into the sea. Leroux made no attempt to unharness himself from the parachute and quickly disappeared under water. Some observers later said that they thought they saw him rise to the surface on one or two occasions. No safety precautions had been taken, and the lifeboats that reached the area ten minutes later found no trace of the balloonist. Two days passed before Leroux's body was recovered by local people. A medical commission came to the conclusion that he had drowned. Charles Leroux was an inventor at heart who had made many improvements to his balloon and parachute by himself. His legendary performance, and death, in Tallinn, generated wide popular interest in Estonia and also inspired many young men to pursue a career in aviation. Leroux has been highly appreciated for his charismatic role in aeronautics and in Estonia the perpetuation of his memory is considered a matter of honour by many. Leroux was buried at the Kopli cemetery in Tallinn. However, the site of his grave is now unknown, as the entire cemetery was flattened and all graves destroyed in 1950, during the Soviet occupation of Estonia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leroux, Charles 1856 births 1889 deaths Accidental deaths in the Russian Empire American balloonists American skydivers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Deaths by drowning in the Russian Empire History of Tallinn Parachuting deaths People from Waterbury, Connecticut Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1889 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Estonia