Charles Leroux
Encyclopedia
Charles Leroux was an American balloonist
and parachutist
.
He died on his 239th jump after water landing in the Bay of Reval
(now Tallinn), Estonia
. Monument to Charles Leroux is located on Pirita road near Maarjamäe
, Tallinn.
Charles Leroux was born in the town of Waterbury, Connecticut
, United States. He came to Europe in 1889 in order to demonstrate his skill in flying balloons and parachuting from them. He is known to have performed exhibition jumps in Germany (Berlin
and Bremen
) and Russia (Moscow
, St. Petersburg). He was to conclude his European tour in Tallinn.
Leroux's parachute jump in Tallinn, initially scheduled for 10 September was postponed for two days on account of high winds. On 12 September (o.s.
), however, the weather showed little approvement. Variable winds were accompanied with fine rain every now and then. After an angry argument with his manager Leroux decided to go up.
The balloon was inflated with lighting gas
supplied by the local gas factory and it took off at 5 PM from a small elevation, a former bastion called Harjumägi in the centre of the town. Winds overpowered the balloon at once and quickly drove it towards the Bay of Tallinn. Above the last houses of the town the balloonist dropped himself down from the suspended seat and began to descend under a properly inflated canopy. The winds, however, rocked the parachute violently and carried it farther out to sea. About a mile and quarter away from the coast the heavily oscillating parachute dropped into the sea. Leroux made no attempt to unharness himself from the parachute and almost immediately disappeared under water. Some observers thought that they saw him once or twice to rise to the surface. No safety precautions had been taken, and the life-boats that reached the place of disaster ten minutes later found no trace of the balloonist. Two days passed before Leroux's body was recovered by local people. A medical commission came to conclusion that he had drowned.
Charles Leroux was an inventor at heart who did much to improve his balloon and parachute. The performance in Tallinn not only aroused general interest in aviation in Estonia, it also became a kind of milestone for several young men whose dreams and ambitions already moved in the same direction. Estonian sports aviators highly appreciate Leroux for his charismatic role in aeronautics and regard the perpetuation of his memory as a matter of honour.
Leroux was the nephew of Abraham Lincoln
, the 16th President of the United States.
He was buried at the Kopli cemetery
in Tallinn.
Balloon (aircraft)
A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
and parachutist
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
.
He died on his 239th jump after water landing in the Bay of Reval
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
(now Tallinn), Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. Monument to Charles Leroux is located on Pirita road near Maarjamäe
Maarjamäe
Maarjamäe is a subdistrict in the district of Pirita, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 1,977 .-References:...
, Tallinn.
Charles Leroux was born in the town of Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, United States. He came to Europe in 1889 in order to demonstrate his skill in flying balloons and parachuting from them. He is known to have performed exhibition jumps in Germany (Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
) and Russia (Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, St. Petersburg). He was to conclude his European tour in Tallinn.
Leroux's parachute jump in Tallinn, initially scheduled for 10 September was postponed for two days on account of high winds. On 12 September (o.s.
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
), however, the weather showed little approvement. Variable winds were accompanied with fine rain every now and then. After an angry argument with his manager Leroux decided to go up.
The balloon was inflated with lighting gas
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
supplied by the local gas factory and it took off at 5 PM from a small elevation, a former bastion called Harjumägi in the centre of the town. Winds overpowered the balloon at once and quickly drove it towards the Bay of Tallinn. Above the last houses of the town the balloonist dropped himself down from the suspended seat and began to descend under a properly inflated canopy. The winds, however, rocked the parachute violently and carried it farther out to sea. About a mile and quarter away from the coast the heavily oscillating parachute dropped into the sea. Leroux made no attempt to unharness himself from the parachute and almost immediately disappeared under water. Some observers thought that they saw him once or twice to rise to the surface. No safety precautions had been taken, and the life-boats that reached the place of disaster ten minutes later found no trace of the balloonist. Two days passed before Leroux's body was recovered by local people. A medical commission came to conclusion that he had drowned.
Charles Leroux was an inventor at heart who did much to improve his balloon and parachute. The performance in Tallinn not only aroused general interest in aviation in Estonia, it also became a kind of milestone for several young men whose dreams and ambitions already moved in the same direction. Estonian sports aviators highly appreciate Leroux for his charismatic role in aeronautics and regard the perpetuation of his memory as a matter of honour.
Leroux was the nephew of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, the 16th President of the United States.
He was buried at the Kopli cemetery
Kopli cemetery
Kopli cemetery was Estonia's largest Lutheran Baltic German cemetery, located in the suburb of Kopli in Tallinn. It contained thousands of graves of prominent citizens of Tallinn and stood for over 170 years from 1774 to shortly after World War II when it was completely flattened and destroyed by...
in Tallinn.