Lunardi, Vincenzo

Lunardi, Vincenzo (1759-1806), Italian balloonist.

Vincenzo Lunardi worked in London for the ambassador from Naples.

On 15 September, 1784, he made the first flight by balloon in Britain.

Watched by a great crowd, he took off from Moorfields, London, taking with him a pigeon, a cat and a dog. The cat suffered from cold and Lunardi came down at North Mimms to put it out. Then he flew on to Standon, Hertfordshire, covering twenty-four miles (thirty-eight kilometers) in two-and-a-half hours.

Today a stone marks the spot where Lunardi landed.

See Leslie Gardiner MAN IN THE CLOUDS : THE STORY OF VINCENZO LUNARDI