Stanley Spencer (aeronaut)

Stanley Spencer
Stanley Spencer with his family and airship frame made of bamboo
Born
Stanley Edward Spencer

1868
Islington, London, England
Died27 January 1906 (aged 37–38)
Malta
NationalityBritish
OccupationAeronaut
SpouseRose Isabel Hawkins
Children1 daughter

Stanley Edward Spencer (1868–1906) was an early English aeronaut, famous for ballooning and parachuting in several countries,[1] and later for building and flying an airship over London in 1902.[1][2]

Stanley's family had a history of flying: all his five siblings were also aeronauts,[3] with Arthur and Percival the more well-known; his father Charles Green Spencer pioneered gliding and founded the balloon factory C.G. Spencer & Sons in London;[3] and his grandfather Edward had flown balloons with Charles Green since 1836.[4][5] On 15 September 1898, Stanley piloted a hydrogen balloon for the meteorologist Arthur Berson in what was believed to be a record ascent to 27,500 feet.[6] On 15 November 1899, Spencer ascended with John Mackenzie Bacon and Gertrude Bacon to observe the Leonid meteor shower from above the clouds. Ten hours later, their balloon landed near Neath, South Wales, narrowly avoiding drifting out over the Atlantic.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Death of a famous aeronaut". Otago Witness. 4 April 1906. p. 14. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Ways of Airships". The Star. 31 December 1903. p. 2. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b Recks, Robert. "WHo's Who of Balloonning -Spen - Sy-". Retrieved 12 May 2011. SPENCER, Charles Green ... Father of six balloonists;
  4. ^ Spencer, Charles (8 November 2010). "Can I rise to the heights my ancestors did?". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  5. ^ Wainwright, Stephen (2011). "The Flying Pharmacist of Junction Lane". An Illustrated History of Old Sutton in St.Helens. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  6. ^ "FIVE MILES UP IN A BALLOON". The New York Times. 26 September 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 2 May 2011. from The Telegraph
  7. ^ Bristow, David L. "Trapped in the sky! Gertrude Bacon and the balloon that wouldn't come down". davidbristow.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.