Maxie Anderson (September 10, 1934 – June 27, 1983) was an American hot air

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 Congressional Gold Medal recipient. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first Atlantic ocean crossing by balloon in the

Double Eagle II ''Double Eagle II'', piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman (aviator), Larry Newman, became the first balloon to Transatlantic flight, cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed on 17 August 1978 in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours a ...

and the first Pacific ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle V.

Early life and education

Born Max Leroy Anderson in Sayre, Oklahoma, to rancher and mining industry executive Carl Anderson. He entered the Missouri Military Academy at

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Missouri, at the age of eight, and throughout his high school years assisted his father in building pipelines. He engaged in prospecting in the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

before completing his degree in

industrial engineering Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...

at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

in 1956. He developed an early interest in flight, obtaining a license at the age of fifteen (having misrepresented his age). This allowed him to fly a plane to the academy at age 15, while cars were banned except for those aged 18. In

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, New Mexico, he entered the mining industry, acquiring his own company, Ranchers Exploration and Development Corporation, before he was thirty. His career was marked by innovations in extraction technologies, delivery systems, and administrative practices. For his work, Anderson was inducted into the National Mining Hall of Fame.

Ballooning

Along with his friend

Ben Abruzzo Benjamin L. Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American balloonist and businessman who helped make Albuquerque, New Mexico, into an international ballooning center. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first Atlant ...

, he became interested in hot air ballooning. The two decided to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

's flight, and engaged balloonist

Ed Yost Paul Edward Yost (June 30, 1919 – May 27, 2007) was the American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon." He worked for a high-altitude research division of General Mil ...

(whose transatlantic bid had failed in 1976) to build the '' Double Eagle''. The balloon was launched near

Marshfield, Massachusetts Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore. The population was 25,825 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It includes the census-designated places ...

on September 9, 1977, but the flight was aborted off the coast of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

on September 13. In 1978 Larry Newman, a manufacturer of hang gliders, was added to the crew for the next attempt in the ''

''. This venture was launched August 11 at Presque Isle, Maine, and arrived at Miserey, France, on August 17. For their efforts, the team was awarded the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

in 1979. It was both a distance record (3108 miles) and a duration record (137 hours) for the sport. With his son Kristian, he made the first non-stop trans-North American balloon flight. The ''Kitty Hawk'' departed

Fort Baker Fort Baker is one of the components of California's Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Fort, which borders the City of Sausalito in Marin County and is connected to San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge, served as an United States Army, ...

, California, on May 8, 1980, and landed on May 12 at Sainte-Félicité, Quebec. Anderson attempted to complete a circumnavigation of the globe by balloon. With Don Ida he launched the balloon ''Jules Verne'' from

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

, Egypt on January 11, 1981, travelling , and landing in Hansa, India 48 hours later.

Death

Anderson was killed on June 27, 1983, near

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He was in the air with co-pilot Don Ida. Having no wish to stray across the border into

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, he attempted to release the gondola from the envelope at touchdown. The bolts failed to fire, and a gust re-lofted the vehicle, whereupon the explosive bolts deployed, and both Anderson and Ida were killed in the fall. The locale of the accident is also given as "near the village of Schönderling in the county of

" in a history of the Gordon Bennett Cup balloon race, in which they were participating as non-competitors at the time.

Legacy

In 1973, Anderson founded the Anderson Valley Vineyards with his wife Patty. "We have a lot of balloon-themed wines and items," wine expert Angela Le Quieu says. She adds that the label for the winery's Balloon Blush wine always uses a picture from the previous year's Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Creating a foundation, the Abruzzo and Anderson families partnered with the City of Albuquerque and constructed the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum next to the launch field of the

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event occurring in the first full week of October, and has ov ...

. The World's most photographed event, Fiesta is held the second week of every October. In addition to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, Anderson's name lives on with the Maxie Anderson Award, for Albuquerque's "business owner who has demonstrated excellence in business success; reputation; community involvement; leadership; humanity; and humor."

References

External links