Eugène Godard Ainé was a notable French

aeronaut Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

, born in Clichy on August 26, 1827, died in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

on September 9, 1890.

Biography

In 1841, 14-year-old Eugène Godard enrolled at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. He did well in his studies and, being the son of a master mason, was intent on a career in architecture. After attending the launch of a

gas balloon A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent t ...

in 1845 however, he found his passion had a new direction and began building balloons. Although his first craft never managed to leave the ground, Godard persisted, and by the end of 1846 he had designed, built, and successfully launched several unmanned

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balloons. He and his brother Louis established a workshop in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

where the two constructed the balloon in which, on October 17, 1847, Eugène made his first free ascent, initiating his career as professional aeronaut and aerostat manufacturer. In 1849, Godard went to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

and met the famous British balloonist Charles Green, who flew him aboard a balloon inflated with

coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

, which was cheaper and more easily obtained than hydrogen. Applying what he learned from Green, Godard constructed his next craft, which he named the ''Ville de Bordeaux''. On October 6, 1850 Godard made his first long-distance flight from the

hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used ...

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in Paris to Gits, Belgium aboard his balloon the ''Ville de París'', a craft that observers described as a “noble and gigantic” balloon. The ''Ville de París'' was reportedly destroyed by fire about a month later following a mishap in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

where Godard and four passengers lost control of the balloon. Fortunately all five people survived. Eugène Godard Litho

In 1852 Godard aided inventor

Henri Giffard Baptiste Jules Henri Jacques Giffard (8 February 182514 April 1882) was a French engineer. In 1852 he invented the steam injector and the powered Giffard dirigible airship. Career Giffard was born in Paris in 1825. He invented the injector a ...

in construction the first steam airship. In 1853, launching from

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, Godard became only the second person to ever fly over the

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. In 1854 Godard made a series of ascents at the marriage of Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

and Empress

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of Austria. On that occasion Godard signed an agreement with the Austrian government which stated that, in case of war, he would build balloons, organize balloonists companies, and perform observation ascents for the military. Franz Joseph declared him the "Aeronaut of the Emperor of Austria." In August 1855, he left France with his wife and his brother Auguste and went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, where he remained until 1858. Godard’s many balloon ascents in North America included launches in

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New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

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San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and

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. After a perilous ascent aboard the balloon ''American'' during a storm in

, Godard invented the tear panel which facilitates rapid deflation of a balloon. In 1856, Godard traveled to Cuba where he met canopy maker

Matias Perez Matias is a form of the given name Matthew. In German-speaking Europe it is most often written as Matthias. It appears in this form in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Alternate spellings are: Mathias, Mattias, Mattis, Mats and Matti. Matias ...

. The two shared a flight on May 21, after which Perez purchased the balloon from Godard for 1200 hard pesos. According to one report, this craft had also been named ''Ville de París''. Perez flew the ship himself successfully on June 12 under excellent atmospheric conditions. Then on June 29, at around 7:00 PM, the Cuban attempted a second ascent, but this time in a strong wind. The balloon was quickly swept out to sea with Perez on board. The balloon and pilot were never found. On September 8, 1856, Eugène Godard made the first successful Canadian passenger flight in a balloon, travelling from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

to Pointe-Olivier, Quebec. On board with him were A.E. Kierzowski and A.X. Rambau. The balloon, called ''Canada'', was the first aircraft ever constructed in Canada.Wydera, Marku
History of Ballooning
Retrieved: February 5, 2016. Then on August 13, 1857, Godard made the first balloon flight in the history of

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, launching from

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor i ...

in a gas balloon called ''Aurora''.Eugène Godard & the Aurora
/ref> In 1859, at the outbreak of the

Franco-Austrian war The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

, Godard returned to Europe and offered tethered observation balloon services to Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

. In so doing, he instituted the art of aerial reconnaissance and broke the 1854 agreement he had made with Franz Joseph I, contributing to Austria’s defeat by the French. After the war, Godard began building hot air balloons equipped with a boiler of his invention, known as the "Montgodarfières". In 1863 he was again awarded the title "Aeronaut of the Emperor", but this time by Napoleon III. He was commissioned to build a balloon to be used as a platform for aerial photography by renowned photographer

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloonist, and proponent of heavier-than-air flight. In 1858, he became the first perso ...

. The aircraft, which was called ''Le Géant'' (The Giant), had an onboard darkroom, a two-story deck capable of carrying 50 men, and an envelope capacity of . It was this balloon that inspired

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraord ...

to write his

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encycloped ...

, ''

Five Weeks in a Balloon ''Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa'' (french: Cinq semaines en ballon) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1863. It is the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of his ...

''. Later that year Godard built an even larger craft, ''L'Aigle'' (The Eagle), whose furnace weighed 445 kilograms (980 pounds) and had a volume that dwarfed that of ''Le Géant'' with . On July 20, 1864 Godard achieved the first hot-air balloon ascent from London, launching ''L'Aigle'' from Cremorne Gardens, and eventually landing in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

. He launched a second time from the same spot 8 days later, this time landing in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...

. In 1866, Godard invented a new optical telegraph system for the military. In 1867, he conducted series of scientific ascents with astronomer

Camille Flammarion Nicolas Camille Flammarion Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, FRAS (; 26 February 1842 – 3 June 1925) was a French astronomer and author. He was a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astrono ...

. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War Godard conducted captive observation flights around the city. The Provisional

Government of National Defense The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the procla ...

also appointed him to construct balloons for an aerial postal service.Eugène Godard (The Free Dictionary)
/ref> Using work space in both the Austerlitz and

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

railway stations, with the help of his wife and his brother Jules, Godard built 33 balloons from October 1870 to January 1871. Then following the Siege of Paris, he moved his family to

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabit ...

. While visiting

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

on September 28, 1873, Godard and his son Eugène II piloted Jules Verne on his first and only balloon ascent. At the 1878 Paris Expo, Godard worked with

offering rides to the public in his giant tethered passenger balloon at the

Tuileries Garden The Tuileries Garden (french: Jardin des Tuileries, ) is a public garden located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in ...

. The gondola accommodated up to 52 passengers, and over the course of the expo, rides were given to some 35,000 people. In 1884 Godard oversaw operation of the largest captive balloon in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, built at Grands Ateliers Aérostatiques du Champ-de-Mars, the largest aircraft factory of the late 19th century, by his nephew Louis II, Gabriel Yon, and 22-year-old apprentice Edouard Surcouf, who would go on to become a prominent aeronautical engineer. On April 6, 1885 at Place Saint-Ambroise in Paris, Godard organized and directed the Arènes du Sport Aéronautique, France’s first ever aviation competition.Arènes du sport aéronautique sous la direction de Eugène Godard ainé inauguration le dimanche 15 Mars 1885
/ref> In 1888 he settled permanently in

, where he died on September 9, 1890. He is buried in

Saint-Ouen Cemetery The Saint-Ouen Cemetery (french: cimetière parisien de Saint-Ouen) is located just north of Montmartre at Saint-Ouen, near Paris. The cemetery consists of two parts. The first, located on Rue Adrien Lesesne opened in 1860 and the second at 2 A ...

in Paris. During his long and productive career, from 1845 to 1890, Eugène Godard built dozens of hot air and gas balloons. He performed approximately 2,500 ascents in ten countries on two continents (Europe and America) setting several world records for altitude, distance, and duration of flight. File:GiffardAirship.JPG, A model of the first dirigible, the 1852 steam powered Giffard Airship, on display at the

London Science Museum The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded ...

. File:Exposition du ballon d'Eugène Godard 1870.jpg, Poster for Exposition of the balloon
''Cita di Fireze''
at Place Saint-Michel in Paris, January 29, 1870. File:Henri_Giffard's_grand_balloon_before_ascent,_Tuileries,_Paris,_1878.jpg, Henri Giffard's tethered passenger balloon prior to an ascent from Tuilerie Garden in 1878. File:Arènes du sport aéronautique sous la direction de Eugène Godard, aîné, lundi de Paques, 6 avril 1885, à 2 heures.jpg, Poster for Godard’s Arènes du Sport Aéronautique, held in Paris on April 6, 1885.

References

*Richard Holmes, ''Falling Upwards:'' London: Collins, 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Godard, Eugene People from Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine 1827 births 1890 deaths French balloonists Balloon flight record holders French aviation record holders Burials at Saint-Ouen Cemetery