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SPEAKER_00: Hello, I'm Lauren Iannotti, editor-in-chief of Real Simple, and I'll be your guest host for this week of Womanica. This month, we're talking about movers and shakers, dancers, stunt women, martial artists, and other pioneering women who've used their physical prowess to shake things up. Today, we're talking about a woman who lived and died with her head in the clouds. Please welcome Sophie Blanchard, the first professional woman balloonist. Marie Niehaus, the first professional woman who lived and died with her head in the clouds. She was born in 1778 in the small village of Trois-Cannons. It was an era of invention. Excitement was in the air. Oxygen was discovered. Hydrogen soon followed. Lighter-than-air gases inspired early aviators to attempt a groundbreaking flight. A 30-foot-tall paper balloon, inflated by heated air, lifted into the sky. Slowly, balloons began to lift packages into the sky then farm animals, and finally, humans. A few years after Sophie's birth, balloonamania swept through France. Balloons adorned ceramics and furniture. Women's sleeves grew puffy. Their skirts rounded. Their hair was done up in big bouffants. One of the fad's brightest and most troubled stars was Jean-Pierre Blanchard. In 1785, when his future wife, Sophie, was still a child, Jean-Pierre became the first woman to fly over the English Channel in a hydrogen balloon. A few years later, he introduced the piloted balloon to North America. He'd put on exhibitions, with an entry fee, of course, where he'd show off his silk balloons, drop dogs tied to parachutes down to earth, and set off fireworks from hundreds of feet in the air. But for someone who spent his time bobbing along in the air, Jean-Pierre had quite a few problems down on solid ground. There was no shortage of rumors about him, that he'd abandoned his first wife and friend and his first wife and four children in pursuit of balloon fame. He falsely claimed credit for inventing the balloon. He opened and then closed a ballooning school. What's for sure is that by the time he was in his mid-30s, Jean-Pierre was broke. The origins of their relationship aren't clear, but we know that by 1804, Jean-Pierre and Sophie had married. Jean-Pierre, on the edge of financial ruin, hatched a plan to bring back the crowds. He would take his delicate young wife up in his balloon. A woman in a balloon? People would certainly pay for that. Sophie was small and birdlike, and by some accounts quite nervous on land. She was reportedly terrified to ride in a horse-drawn carriage. But in the sky, Sophie was free. She described her first balloon ride as un sensation incomparable, an incomparable feeling. Jean-Pierre's hunch was right. The crowds loved Sophie. Sophie loved flying. And in 1805, Sophie became the first woman to pilot her own balloon. She and Jean-Pierre continued to fly together until, in 1809, while in a balloon flying over the Hague, Jean-Pierre died of a heart attack. Sophie, though, continued her flights. After all, Jean-Pierre's debts hadn't died with him. So Sophie took to the air to pay them off. She had no trouble attracting crowds. In the air, she was fearless. She became known for stunning pyrotechnics, often launching fireworks out of her balloons. But more than tricks, she loved exploring. She flew over Italy and the Alps. She'd often take off at night so she could fall asleep in the sky. Of course, ballooning was far from safe. She often traveled so high that she'd lose consciousness from lack of oxygen. She almost drowned after crash landing in a swamp. Her bravery drew the attention of Napoleon, who even consulted her on a potential aerial invasion of England. But eventually, Sophie's luck ran out. On July 6, 1819, Sophie prepared to perform for a party in Paris. She would do her Bengal fire demonstration, featuring a series of slow-burning flames. Dressed in a white dress and feathered hat, Sophie took off, carrying a torch. But the winds were strong. Her balloon immediately floated off course. She began dropping fireworks attached to parachutes. The audience was entranced. Suddenly, a loud pop rang out. A bright flash lit up the sky. There was Sophie in her balloon, flames shooting out from the top. Was this part of the show? "'Vive Madame Blanchard,' chewed the crowd. Sophie began cutting parts of the balloon loose to slow her descent. It looked like she might still make it out alive, but the basket below the balloon caught on a house. Sophie fell out, tangled in the balloon's ropes. She rolled slowly down the roof and onto the street below. When the crowd arrived at her side, she was dead. Sophie had added one final first to her resume. She became the first woman to die in an aviation accident. She was buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Her tombstone, featuring a balloon on fire, reads in French, victim of her art and intrepidity. That's it for this month of Womanica. To learn about more individuals changing the game, check out Reel Simple's March issue on Newsstand and at reelsimple.com slash gamechangers. We're celebrating the people, inventions, and ideas that are changing our lives for the better. Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan for having me as a guest host. Tune in on Monday for a new month and a new theme.
