Johanne Wilhelmine Siegmundine Reichard (née Schmidt) (April 2, 1788, Braunschweig, Germany – February 22, 1848, Döhlen, Germany) was the first German female balloonist.
Reichard was the daughter of a cup-bearer of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She married the chemist and physicist Johann Gottfried Reichard in 1807 and their first child was born in 1807. The family moved to Berlin in 1810. That same year Johann Gottfried Reichard made his first flight in a self-constructed gas balloon from Berlin, making him the second person to fly in a gas balloon in Germany.
On 16 April 1811 Wilhemine Reichard made her first solo flight, starting in Berlin. She reached a height of over 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) and landed safely in Genshagen, 33.5 kilometres (20.8 mi) from her starting point. This was not the first solo flight by a woman in Germany; the Frenchwoman Sophie Blanchard had previously made a flight in September 1810, starting from Frankfurt. Reichard's third flight in 1811 reached a height of approximately 7,800 metres (25,600 ft). Due to the altitude she lost consciousness and her balloon crash-landed in a forest; badly injured, she was rescued by local farmers.
After some difficulties during the Napoleonic wars, her husband wanted to purchase a chemical factory in Döhlen. To raise the money, Wilhemine Reichard conducted several more flights. Her first flight after the accident in 1811 took place in October 1816. A later flight took place during the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in Aachen in 1818. Flights in Prague and Vienna also made her known in Austria-Hungary. Her last flight was in October 1820, starting in Munich at the Oktoberfest, which was held on the 10th anniversary of the first Oktoberfest. In 1821, the chemical factory started operations.
Wilhelmine's husband conducted balloon flights until 1835. He died in 1844, and Wilhelmine managed the chemical factory until her own death in 1848.(quoted from Wikipedia)
∼German balloonist. On 16.4.1811 she made her first solo flight in a balloon from the garden of the Berlin Royal Veterinary School to Genshagen, some 30 km away to the south of Berlin. This was followed by her third balloon flight from Dresden on September 30, during which she ascended to an altitude of 7000 meters in the sky. Her balloon flights continued even after several crash landings, making balloon flights from many German cities. By 1820, she had made 17 flights, which she also used for scientific purposes.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Reichard was the daughter of a cup-bearer of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She married the chemist and physicist Johann Gottfried Reichard in 1807 and their first child was born in 1807. The family moved to Berlin in 1810. That same year Johann Gottfried Reichard made his first flight in a self-constructed gas balloon from Berlin, making him the second person to fly in a gas balloon in Germany.
On 16 April 1811 Wilhemine Reichard made her first solo flight, starting in Berlin. She reached a height of over 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) and landed safely in Genshagen, 33.5 kilometres (20.8 mi) from her starting point. This was not the first solo flight by a woman in Germany; the Frenchwoman Sophie Blanchard had previously made a flight in September 1810, starting from Frankfurt. Reichard's third flight in 1811 reached a height of approximately 7,800 metres (25,600 ft). Due to the altitude she lost consciousness and her balloon crash-landed in a forest; badly injured, she was rescued by local farmers.
After some difficulties during the Napoleonic wars, her husband wanted to purchase a chemical factory in Döhlen. To raise the money, Wilhemine Reichard conducted several more flights. Her first flight after the accident in 1811 took place in October 1816. A later flight took place during the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in Aachen in 1818. Flights in Prague and Vienna also made her known in Austria-Hungary. Her last flight was in October 1820, starting in Munich at the Oktoberfest, which was held on the 10th anniversary of the first Oktoberfest. In 1821, the chemical factory started operations.
Wilhelmine's husband conducted balloon flights until 1835. He died in 1844, and Wilhelmine managed the chemical factory until her own death in 1848.(quoted from Wikipedia)
∼German balloonist. On 16.4.1811 she made her first solo flight in a balloon from the garden of the Berlin Royal Veterinary School to Genshagen, some 30 km away to the south of Berlin. This was followed by her third balloon flight from Dresden on September 30, during which she ascended to an altitude of 7000 meters in the sky. Her balloon flights continued even after several crash landings, making balloon flights from many German cities. By 1820, she had made 17 flights, which she also used for scientific purposes.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Johanne Wilhelmine Siegmundine Reichard (née Schmidt) (April 2, 1788, Braunschweig, Germany – February 22, 1848, Döhlen, Germany) was the first German female balloonist.
Reichard was the daughter of a cup-bearer of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She married the chemist and physicist Johann Gottfried Reichard in 1807 and their first child was born in 1807. The family moved to Berlin in 1810. That same year Johann Gottfried Reichard made his first flight in a self-constructed gas balloon from Berlin, making him the second person to fly in a gas balloon in Germany.
On 16 April 1811 Wilhemine Reichard made her first solo flight, starting in Berlin. She reached a height of over 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) and landed safely in Genshagen, 33.5 kilometres (20.8 mi) from her starting point. This was not the first solo flight by a woman in Germany; the Frenchwoman Sophie Blanchard had previously made a flight in September 1810, starting from Frankfurt. Reichard's third flight in 1811 reached a height of approximately 7,800 metres (25,600 ft). Due to the altitude she lost consciousness and her balloon crash-landed in a forest; badly injured, she was rescued by local farmers.
After some difficulties during the Napoleonic wars, her husband wanted to purchase a chemical factory in Döhlen. To raise the money, Wilhemine Reichard conducted several more flights. Her first flight after the accident in 1811 took place in October 1816. A later flight took place during the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in Aachen in 1818. Flights in Prague and Vienna also made her known in Austria-Hungary. Her last flight was in October 1820, starting in Munich at the Oktoberfest, which was held on the 10th anniversary of the first Oktoberfest. In 1821, the chemical factory started operations.
Wilhelmine's husband conducted balloon flights until 1835. He died in 1844, and Wilhelmine managed the chemical factory until her own death in 1848.(quoted from Wikipedia)
∼German balloonist. On 16.4.1811 she made her first solo flight in a balloon from the garden of the Berlin Royal Veterinary School to Genshagen, some 30 km away to the south of Berlin. This was followed by her third balloon flight from Dresden on September 30, during which she ascended to an altitude of 7000 meters in the sky. Her balloon flights continued even after several crash landings, making balloon flights from many German cities. By 1820, she had made 17 flights, which she also used for scientific purposes.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Reichard was the daughter of a cup-bearer of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She married the chemist and physicist Johann Gottfried Reichard in 1807 and their first child was born in 1807. The family moved to Berlin in 1810. That same year Johann Gottfried Reichard made his first flight in a self-constructed gas balloon from Berlin, making him the second person to fly in a gas balloon in Germany.
On 16 April 1811 Wilhemine Reichard made her first solo flight, starting in Berlin. She reached a height of over 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) and landed safely in Genshagen, 33.5 kilometres (20.8 mi) from her starting point. This was not the first solo flight by a woman in Germany; the Frenchwoman Sophie Blanchard had previously made a flight in September 1810, starting from Frankfurt. Reichard's third flight in 1811 reached a height of approximately 7,800 metres (25,600 ft). Due to the altitude she lost consciousness and her balloon crash-landed in a forest; badly injured, she was rescued by local farmers.
After some difficulties during the Napoleonic wars, her husband wanted to purchase a chemical factory in Döhlen. To raise the money, Wilhemine Reichard conducted several more flights. Her first flight after the accident in 1811 took place in October 1816. A later flight took place during the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in Aachen in 1818. Flights in Prague and Vienna also made her known in Austria-Hungary. Her last flight was in October 1820, starting in Munich at the Oktoberfest, which was held on the 10th anniversary of the first Oktoberfest. In 1821, the chemical factory started operations.
Wilhelmine's husband conducted balloon flights until 1835. He died in 1844, and Wilhelmine managed the chemical factory until her own death in 1848.(quoted from Wikipedia)
∼German balloonist. On 16.4.1811 she made her first solo flight in a balloon from the garden of the Berlin Royal Veterinary School to Genshagen, some 30 km away to the south of Berlin. This was followed by her third balloon flight from Dresden on September 30, during which she ascended to an altitude of 7000 meters in the sky. Her balloon flights continued even after several crash landings, making balloon flights from many German cities. By 1820, she had made 17 flights, which she also used for scientific purposes.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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