Frank Hedges Butler (17 December 1855 – 27 November 1928) was a British wine merchant, and a founding member of the Aero Club of Great Britain.

Early life

Frank Hedges Butler was born in London on 17 December 1855, the fifth son of the wine merchant James Butler and his wife, Frances Mary, the eldest daughter of Butler's business partner, William Hedges. He was educated at a preparatory school in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, and at a boarding school in

Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of east London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and orig ...

. Butler then studied in France and Germany in order to learn the languages.

Career

Butler became a partner in the family business, Hedges and Butler, in 1882. He was one of the first people in Britain to own a motor car, buying a Benz in 1897, and was the first honorary treasurer of the Automobile Club of Great Britain. With

Charles Rolls Charles Stewart Rolls (27 August 1877 – 12 July 1910) was a British motoring and aviation pioneer. With Henry Royce, he co-founded the Rolls-Royce Limited, Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeron ...

, he helped to organize races from 1898, including the RAC 1000 mile Challenge, in which he took part, accompanied by his daughter. He was introduced to

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

ing by

. During an ascent from Crystal Palace in London on 24 September 1901 in a balloon named ''City of York'', he was accompanied by Rolls, his daughter Vera Hedges Butler, and

Stanley Spencer (aeronaut) Stanley Edward Spencer (1868–1906) was an early English aeronaut, famous for ballooning and parachuting in several countries, and later for building and flying an airship over London in 1902. Stanley's family had a history of flying: all hi ...

. While flying over

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

, Frank's daughter Vera suggested the formation of an aero club within the Automobile Club. This, the Aero Club of Great Britain, later the Royal Aero Club, would become the regulatory body for aviation in England, responsible for issuing pilot's licenses and also playing an important part in the development of military aviation in Britain. By 1907 he had made more than a hundred balloon ascents, including the longest solo flight made in England in 1902, and what was then the longest cross-channel balloon voyage, from

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

in London to

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

in 1905. This flight had not originated as an attempt to fly the Channel: the intention had been to observe an

eclipse of the sun A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

. In 1907 he published an account of his ballooning career, entitle
''5000 miles in a Balloon''
Butler was the second English passenger taken aloft by

Wilbur Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

during his demonstration flights in France in 1908. He later became the first person to take a flying lesson at the flying school established at

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of t ...

, although he never gained a pilot's licence. He was an enthusiastic traveller, not only frequently visiting

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in connection with his business, but also travelling to the Far East, North and South America, Lapland and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. An account of his trip to Lapland
''Through Lapland with Reindeer and Skis''
was published in 1917, and other travel books include ''Fifty Years of Travel by Land, Water and Air'' (1920), ''Round the World'' (1925) and ''Wine and the Wine Lands of the World'' (1927). He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in 1877.

Personal life

He married Ada Tickle, the daughter of a wool merchant, in 1880: the couple had two daughters, Frances, who died in infancy and Vera.Brevet Major (Honorary Lieutenant Colonel) Hugh Iltid Nicholl, flickr.com (Vera Butler married Hugh Iltid Nicholl in 1904.)
/ref> Ada died in 1905. Hedges Butler was an able amateur violinist and played as one of the first violins for the Imperial Institute Orchestral Society, which he founded in 1894. He was also a keen golfer, yachtsman and big-game hunter. He died in a nursing home at 29

Wimpole Street Wimpole Street is a street in Marylebone, central London. Located in the City of Westminster, it is associated with private medical practice and medical associations. No. 1 Wimpole Street is an example of Edwardian architecture, Edwardian baroq ...

, London, on 27 November 1928 and was buried in

Norwood cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

References

External links

Text of ''Fifty Years of Travel by Land, Water and Air'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Frank Hedges 1855 births 1928 deaths English balloonists Wine merchants English travel writers Burials at West Norwood Cemetery 19th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English businesspeople