Francesco Zambeccari
Count Francesco Zambeccari (1752 - 21 September 1812) was an Italian aviation pioneer. He was killed in a ballooning accident.
Zambeccari was born in Bologna in 1752, son of Senator Giacomo Zambeccari. He studied at the Collegio dei nobili in Parma and then enlisted in the Guardia Real in Spain and served in the Spanish Navy. He fled from the Spanish Inquisition, and was in Paris in 1783 where he observed the first unmanned balloon flights by the Montgolfier brothers.
He then moved to London and launched the first unmanned balloon in Britain on 4 November 1783, a year before the first manned flight in England by Vincent Lunardi, releasing a 5 feet (1.5 m) hydrogen balloon from the house of Michael Biaggini, a maker of artificial flowers made from silk and other fabrics, at 33 Noble Street, on Cheapside. The balloon was later found by a farmer at Waltham Abbey. The experiment was repeated a few weeks later, as a commercial enterprise for which Zambeccari and Biaggini sold tickets, with a release of a 10 feet (3.0 m) balloon from the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company on 25 November; this balloon was found nearly 40 miles (64 km) away at Petworth. Biaggini released an even larger 16 feet (4.9 m) balloon from Grosvenor Square in January 1784. Zambeccari was commissioned to launch a balloon in Venice in April 1784, an occasion that was painted by Francesco Guardi. He also collaborated with Vincent Lunardi before Lunardi's first manned flight in England on 15 September 1784. Zambeccari and Admiral Sir Edward Vernon ascended in a 34 feet (10 m) balloon from Tottenham Court Road on 23 March 1785 and landed later the same day near Horsham. The balloon was later displayed at the Lyceum. He also flew from Norwich later that year.
Zambeccari moved to St Petersburg in 1787 and served in the Russian Imperial Navy. He was captured by the Turks in 1787 and held prisoner in Constantinople for over two years. His freedom was secured by the Spanish ambassador.
He returned to Bologna, and married Diamante Negrini. They had three children, including Livio Zambeccari.
He spent the rest of his life experimenting with balloons, generally using a combination of a hot air balloon and hydrogen balloon known as a rozière after Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier. He sought a method of steering using rudders or oars. He published a five-volume work on ballooning in London in 1803.
He and his companions were rescued from the Adriatic Sea, twice, in 1803 and 1804. The government of Bologna sponsored a flight in 1803. Bad weather caused the flight to be postponed in September 1803. Wanting to avoid a second postponement, the balloon took off in bad weather on 7 October. Zambeccari was accompanied by Pasquale Andreoli [it] and Gaetano Grassetti. In bad visibility, the balloon crashed into the Adriatic Sea early the following morning. Similarly, another flight with Andreoli on 23 August 1804 also crashed into the Adriatic Sea.
Zambeccari died in September 1812, when his balloon caught fire after an unsuccessful landing attempt. His companion, Bonaga, survived. He was buried in the family tomb in the Basilica of San Francesco. His remains were moved to the Certosa di Bologna in 1813, but returned to San Francesco in 1926 to be interred with his son Livio in the monument to his relation Alessandro Zambeccari.
References
- Zambeccari and his two companions in the Adriatic (1804), early flight collecting card, ca. 1895
- Von Zeppelin's Forgotten Predecessor. Zambeccari's Wonderful Airship in 1803, from Scientific American (1908)
- Count Zambeccari's balloon, Smithsonian Learning Lab
- Count Francesco Zambeccari, Sir Edward Vernon and Miss Grice in a hot air balloon at Tottenham Court Road, on March 23rd 1785, British Library
- Flying's Strangest Moments, John Harding, p. 24-25
- London Magazine, December 1783, p. 502
- The Papers of Benjamin Franklin: Volume 41, p. 229-230
- Francesco Zambeccari, Aeronauta (1752-1812) by Timina Guasti Caproni, Claremont
- Zambeccari Francesco, Storia e Memoria di Bologna
- Broadsheet advertising Zambeccari's balloon, 1785 Archived 2015-11-26 at the Wayback Machine, Science Museum
- Ballooning: A History, 1782-1900, By S.L. Kotar, J.E. Gessler, p. 71
- Guardi's Balloon, The Brooklyn Rail, 5 November 2014
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- Jun 15, 1785 De Rozier's balloon incident
- Apr 15, 1875 Zénith balloon incident
- Jul 13, 1897 Arctic Balloon Expedition
- Feb 14, 1902 Santos-Dumont nº6 crash (Monaco)
- May 12, 1902 Pax airship disaster
- Nov 30, 1907 Patrie airship disappearance
- Sep 25, 1909 Lebaudy République airship
- Apr 24, 1910 Zeppelin LZ 5 crash
- Jul 13, 1910 Erbslöh airship crash
- May 21, 1911 Paris to Madrid air race accident
- Feb 17, 1912 Martin-Handasyde No. 3
- May 13, 1912 Brooklands Flanders Monoplane crash
- Sep 10, 1912 Bristol Coanda Monoplane crash
- Dec 15, 1912 Handley Page Type F crash
- Apr 17, 1913 Zodiac balloon accident
- Aug 7, 1913 Cody Floatplane crash
- Sep 9, 1913 Helgoland disaster
- Oct 17, 1913 Johannisthal disaster
- Aug 23, 1914 Zeppelin LZ 23 shot down
- Feb 17, 1915 Zeppelin LZ 24
- Mar 21, 1915 Zeppelin LZ 29 crash
- Jun 07, 1915 Zeppelin LZ 37 shot down
- Jun 07, 1915 Zeppelin LZ 38 shed bombardment
- Aug 10, 1915 Zeppelin LZ 43 fire
- Oct 2, 1915 Alsace crash
- Dec 17, 1915 Zeppelin LZ 39
- Feb 01, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 54 crash
- Feb 21, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 47
- Apr 01, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 48
- May 03, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 59 crash
- May 04, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 32
- May 05, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 55 shot down
- Sep 16, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 31
- Sep 24, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 76
- Sep 24, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 74
- Oct 02, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 72
- Nov 27, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 78 shot down
- Nov 28, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 61 shot down
- Dec 28, 1916 Zeppelin LZ 53 fire
- Mar 17, 1917 Zeppelin LZ 86
- May 14, 1917 Zeppelin LZ 64
- Jun 17, 1917 Zeppelin LZ 95 shot down
- Aug 21, 1917 Zeppelin LZ 66
- Oct 08, 1917 Zeppelin LZ 102
- Oct 20, 1917 Zeppelin LZ 85 crash
- Oct 20, 1917 Zeppelin LZ 89 crash
- Dec 14, 1917 C.26 crash
- Apr 07, 1918 Zeppelin LZ 104
- Aug 06, 1918 Zeppelin LZ 112
- Aug 11, 1918 Zeppelin LZ 100
- Aug 19, 1918 Maxstoke air crash
- May 26, 1919 Tarrant Tabor
- Jul 15, 1919 Airship N.S.11 crash
- Jul 21, 1919 Wingfoot Air Express crash
- Aug 2, 1919 Verona Caproni Ca. 48 crash
- For single-person aviation accidents see:
Aviators killed in early aviation accidents