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KF5JRV > TODAY 10.05.26 12:05l 17 Lines 1922 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 25327_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - May 10
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Sent: 260510/0959Z 25327@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.24
On May 10, 1785, a hot air balloon crashes in Tullamore, Ireland, triggering what is considered by many to be the world's first aviation disaster. Launched during a local fair, the unmanned balloon drifted off course and ignited a fire that tore through the town, destroying nearly 100 houses and businesses. The blaze, later known as the Great Fire of Tullamore, exposed the unexpected dangers of early ballooning experiments.
A Dublin newspaper reported that the stunt had been devised by two English gentlemen, who persuaded an “English adventurer” to construct and launch a Montgolfier hot air balloon “for the amusement of their friends.” Likely made from paper and lifted by a basket of burning straw, the balloon rose after its tethers were cutonly to be caught in “smart winds” that carried it into a local surgeons chimney. There, it caught fire, scattering embers and flames across town and setting buildings alight along Barrack Street.
“The utmost distress has been experienced by the miserable inhabitants,” the newspaper wrote four days after the fire, noting that the remaining houses could scarcely shelter the displaced. “Several of the wealthier residents have suffered losses nearly to their total ruin, particularly Mr. Norris whose dwelling house, office and malthouse containing a considerable quantity of grain were destroyed. This dreadful calamity … has overwhelmed this ill-fated town with inconceivable distress and inconvenience.”
Relief came nearly two weeks later, when Charles William Bury, the towns young landlord, arrived to distribute 550 pounds to those affectedan act the Dublin Evening Post praised as one of “charity and munificence.”
In a fitting symbol of recovery, the Tullamore coat of arms bears a phoenixthe mythological bird of fire and rebirth.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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