Park Van Tassel

Last updated
Parker (Park) Albert Van Tassel
Born(1853-07-25)25 July 1853
Cass County, Indiana
Died24 October 1930(1930-10-24) (aged 77)
Oakland, California
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Aerial exhibitionist with balloons and parachutes
Known forPioneer aviator
SpousesElizabeth Spencer (1872-1876?), Ella Block (1879-1885), Clara A. Coykendall (1885-1890), Edith Ann Nowlan (1892-1894?), A. F. Barr (1912-?)
Childrentwo sons

Park Albert Van Tassel (b.1853-d.1930) was a pioneering aerial exhibitionist in the United States. Van Tassel made the first balloon flights in New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado [1] [2] [3] [4] and helped invent and introduce methods of parachute jumping from balloons. [5] His efforts helped introduce ballooning and parachuting internationally and also helped introduce women to these sports. [6]

Contents

New Mexico

In May, 1882 Van Tassel expressed interest in making a balloon ascension at Albuquerque, New Mexico. [7] After a full day of inflation with coal gas from the Albuquerque Gas Works, Van Tassel made the first human flight in New Mexico at 6:15pm on July 4, 1882. He launched from an area near Second Street between Railroad (Central) and Gold Avenues. Van Tassel rose slowly in his City of Albuquerque balloon to an apex of 11,000 feet despite it being only 2/3 full of lifting gas. His safe landing near the fairgrounds near Central Avenue and Rio Grande Blvd. was hailed as a complete success. [8] [9] Today, Albuquerque is home to the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the largest gathering of hot air and gas balloons in the world.

National and international balloon tours

Newspaper advertisement for a parachute jump by Park Van Tassel in 1889 at Utah Park Van Tassel parachute jump.tif
Newspaper advertisement for a parachute jump by Park Van Tassel in 1889 at Utah

Van Tassel toured the American west, providing balloon ascensions at locations in Utah, [10] the northwest, [11] New Orleans, [12] California, Colorado, Kansas City, Missouri, Oregon, Washington and other locations in the west. [13] In Scientific American he suggested the possibility of a transcontinental balloon voyage across North America in 1886, something unheard of at the time. [14] Together with Thomas Scott Baldwin, Van Tassel co-invented a parachute, used by Baldwin to make the first parachute jump in the western United States on January 30, 1887 at San Francisco. [15] In competition with other daredevils such as Baldwin, Percival G. Spencer, James Price, and others, he later toured the world with his Van Tassel Troupe, associated with balloon ascensions and parachute jumps. His troupe is credited with the first successful parachute jump in Hawaii, [16] [17] first balloon flights and parachute jumps by women in Australia, [18] early balloon flights in India, [19] the first flight in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and other locations in southeast Asia. Many of these events also helped to pioneer women's efforts in early aviation as a part of the Troupe. [20] [21] [22]

California

Van Tassel returned to the United States, living in the San Francisco Bay area and continuing his ballooning in Oakland. He briefly assisted in high-altitude glider flights arranged by John J. Montgomery near Santa Clara and helped establish balloon clubs such as the Pacific Aero Club and the Oakland Aero Club, making several recreational flights in his large City of Oakland balloon. [23] He also patented a mechanical toy parachute in the 1921. [24]

Family life

Van Tassel married Elizabeth Spencer in 1872 at Indiana, divorced and married Ella Block in San Joaquin, California in 1879. In 1885 he divorced Block and married Clara A. Coykendall at San Jose, California. In 1888, Clara became the first woman to make a parachute jump in the western United States. Clara filed for divorce in 1890, and Van Tassel married Edith Ann Nowlan in 1892 in India. After returning to California in 1900 without Nowlan, Van Tassel married again in 1912 to A. F. Barr at Oakland. He passed away October 24, 1930 at Oakland following a heart attack. [25]

Associates

Jeanette Rumary (as "Jeanette Van Tassell") died following the first manned flight in Bangladesh in 1892. Jenny van Tassel.jpg
Jeanette Rumary (as "Jeanette Van Tassell") died following the first manned flight in Bangladesh in 1892.

Several individuals were associated with Van Tassel's aerial exhibitions including:

Clara Van Tassel (wife)
Joe Lawrence as "Joseph Van Tassell"
James Price as "James Van Tassell"
Valerie Frietas as "Valerie Van Tassell"
Gladys Frietas as "Gladys Van Tassell"
Jennette Rummary as "Jennette Van Tassell"
Thomas Scott Baldwin
William Ivy as "Ivy Baldwin"
John Joseph Montgomery

Honors

Park Van Tassel Exhibit Sunport 2021.jpg

A new exhibit featuring Park Van Tassel and the history of ballooning in New Mexico was launched at the Albuquerque International Sunport in September, 2021. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parachute</span> Device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who can exit from an aircraft at height and descend safely to earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albuquerque, New Mexico</span> City in New Mexico, United States

Albuquerque, also known as ABQ, Burque, and the Duke City, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Founded in 1706 as La Villa de Alburquerque by Santa Fe de Nuevo México governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, and named in honor of Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque and Viceroy of New Spain, it served as an outpost on El Camino Real linking Mexico City to the northernmost territories of New Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albuquerque International Sunport</span> Airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Albuquerque International Sunport, locally known as the Sunport, is the primary international airport serving the U.S. state of New Mexico, particularly the Albuquerque metropolitan area and the larger Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area. It handles around 5.4 million passengers annually and over 400 flights daily. ABQ is located in Bernalillo County, between the Rio Grande and the Sandia Mountains, east of Old Town and Barelas, 3 miles (5 km) southeast of downtown, south of the University of New Mexico and directly to the west of Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta</span> Annual hot air balloon festival in New Mexico, United States

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 over 500 hot air balloons each year, far from its beginnings of merely 13 balloons in 1972. The event is the largest balloon festival in the world, followed by the Grand Est Mondial Air in France, and the León International Balloon Festival in Mexico.

This is a list of aviation-related events during the 19th century :

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Abruzzo</span> American balloonist

Benjamin L. "Ben" Abruzzo 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 Atlantic Ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle II and the first Pacific Ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas balloon</span> Balloon containing gases which are lighter than air

A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air. When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent the escape of gas. A gas balloon may also be called a Charlière for its inventor, the Frenchman Jacques Charles. Today, familiar gas balloons include large blimps and small latex party balloons. For nearly 200 years, well into the 20th century, manned balloon flight utilized gas balloons before hot-air balloons became dominant. Without power, heat or fuel, untethered flights of gas balloons depended on the skill of the pilot. Gas balloons have greater lift for a given volume, so they do not need to be so large, and they can stay up for much longer than hot air balloons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double Eagle II Airport</span> Airport

Double Eagle II Airport is a public airport located seven miles (11 km) northwest of the central business district of Albuquerque, a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. It is owned by the City of Albuquerque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André-Jacques Garnerin</span> French balloonist and inventor of the frameless parachute

André-Jacques Garnerin was a French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute. He was appointed Official Aeronaut of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Scott Baldwin</span> US Army aviator and balloonist (1854–1923)

Thomas Scott Baldwin was a pioneer balloonist and U.S. Army major during World War I. He was the first American to descend from a balloon by parachute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wise (balloonist)</span> American balloonist

John Wise was a pioneer in the field of ballooning. He made over 400 flights during his lifetime and was responsible for several innovations in balloon design. His balloon, The Jupiter carried 123 letters to make the first official airmail delivery run for the US Post Office in 1859.

Carol Ann Rymer Davis was an American balloonist, and radiologist. In 2004, she was the first woman to win the Gordon Bennet Cup for ballooning with fellow crewman Richard Abruzzo. For this historic win, they were awarded the 2005 Harmon Trophy. She was lost at sea on September 29, 2010, over the Adriatic Sea. Her body, along with that of Abruzzo, was found off the coast of Italy in the Adriatic Sea on December 6, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian cemetery, Dhaka</span>

The Dhaka Christian Cemetery is a graveyard situated in Wari, a district of the old town in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established by Portuguese traders in the 17th century and is still in use by members of the Dhaka Christian community. It contains two designated archaeological sites, the Columbo Sahib mausoleum and the tomb of Reverend Joseph Paget. Many of the oldest graves and mausoleums are in a state of disrepair and are being overtaken by unchecked vegetation growth and lack of maintenance, while other parts of the cemetery still see new burials taking place at regular intervals. It is open daily to visitors.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel J. Maloney</span> American pioneering aviator and test pilot

Daniel John Maloney was an American pioneering aviator and test pilot who made the first high-altitude flights by man using a Montgomery glider in 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">811th Cadet Squadron New Mexico Civil Air Patrol</span> Military unit

The 811th Cadet Squadron was one of the few remaining School Enrichment Program (SEP) Cadet Squadrons in Civil Air Patrol. It acted as a regular squadron, yet had a partnership with an in school elective class that was offered to students at the middle school, who do not need to be members to participate. This was before the squadron was retired, in 2023, due to lack of participating members, and loss of reliable location. The squadron members were re-distributed into the 855th Albuquerque Aviation Academy Cadet Squadron, which started later that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madame Zeno</span>

Madame Zeno was an early Aeronaut, an actor, and an entertainer famous at the turn of the 20th century for her performance of suspending from a trapeze below a parachute attached to Hot Air Balloon and cutting loose from a balloon floating back to earth while hanging from the trapeze beneath the parachute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professor Zeno (Paul L Hague)</span> American aeronaut and stuntman

Professor Zeno was an early Aeronaut at the turn of the 20th century known for his performance of suspending from a trapeze below a parachute attached to a Hot Air Balloon, which he would then and cut loose from to float back to Earth while hanging from the trapeze beneath the parachute. He also performed the balloon cannon act in which he, again equipped with a parachute, was shot from a cannon suspended from a hot air balloon only to float safely back to Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Levin (balloonist)</span>

David N. Levin was an American balloonist. He is the only balloonist to have completed the "triple crown" by winning the World Gas Balloon Championship, the World Hot Air Ballooning Championships and the Gordon Bennett Cup. In 1992, Levin also became the first balloonist to win ballooning's four major events, having won the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship along with the "triple crown".

References

  1. Tom Crouch, The Eagle Aloft: Two Centuries of the Balloon in America, Smithsonian Press, Washington, D.C., 1983
  2. "USED PARACHUTES FIFTY YEARS AGO; Captain Van Tassel, 78, of Oakland, Cal., Tells of Early Days as Balloonist. WIFE ALSO A JUMPER Los Angeles Chief of Police in 1882 Tried to Prevent Her From "Committing Suicide." His Wife a Parachute Jumper. Became Tangled in Parachute". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  3. "Part L. First national flights" (PDF). www.fai.org.
  4. "Ballooning". albuqhistsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  5. Westman, Anton (2009). "Dangers in Sport Parachuting". Umea Universitet, Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences. p. 14.
  6. Gary Fogel, Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, 2021
  7. Albuquerque Daily Journal, May 27, 1882
  8. Albuquerque Daily Journal, July 6, 1882
  9. Albuquerque Evening Review, July 6, 1882
  10. The Salt Lake Herald, July 4, 1883
  11. Morning Oregonian, January 2, 1889
  12. Times Picayune, March 20, 1884
  13. Sacramento Daily Record-Union, September 5, 1885
  14. "A Transcontinental Balloon Voyage". Scientific American. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  15. Gary Fogel, Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, 2021
  16. "Ballooning in Hawai'i: A Very Short History – Matthew Wittmann".
  17. "Van Tassel Talks" (PDF). The Hawaiian Gazette. 1889-11-26. p. 5.
  18. Sydney Morning Herald, December 23, 1889
  19. The Times of India, February 26, 1891
  20. "Jeanette Van Tassel : First to Conquer the Sky of Bengal | Writers Lawn". www.writerslawn.com. July 26, 2020.
  21. Prior, Susan (May 9, 2017). "The first flight ever taken in Brisbane was by a scantily clad daredevil balloonist". Brisbane Times.
  22. Metcalf, Bill (2008). "Lady Parachutists and the End of Civilisation in Queensland" (PDF). Queensland Review. 13 (1).
  23. Gary Fogel, Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, 2021
  24. "Mechanical toy".
  25. Gary Fogel, Sky Rider: Park Van Tassel and the Rise of Ballooning in the West, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, 2021
  26. "City Unveils New Balloon Museum Exhibit at the Sunport | ABQ Sunport". 22 September 2021.