Élisabeth Thible

Élisabeth Thible, or Elizabeth Tible^[1] (née Estrieux, 8 March 1757 – 13 February 1785), was the first woman to make a flight in an untethered hot air balloon.^[2][3][4] She was born in France in Lyon on 8 March 1757. On 4 June 1784, eight months after the first crewed balloon flight, Thible flew with Mr. Fleurant on board a hot air balloon christened La Gustave in honour of King Gustav III of Sweden's visit to Lyon.

Élisabeth Thible
Born	8 March 1757
Died	13 February 1785
Citizenship	French
Aviation career
Famous flights	first woman on record to fly in an untethered hot air balloon

Ballooning

Monsieur Fleurant originally planned to fly the hot air balloon with Count Jean-Baptiste de Laurencin, but the count gave his position on The Gustave to Élisabeth Thible.^{[5][Note 1]}

When the balloon left the ground Thible, dressed as the Roman goddess Minerva, and Fleurant sang two duets from Monsigny's La Belle Arsène, a celebrated opera of the time. The flight lasted 45 minutes, covered 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), and achieved an estimated altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It was witnessed by King Gustav III of Sweden in whose honour the balloon was named. During the bumpy landing Thible turned an ankle as the basket hit the ground. She was credited by Fleurant with the success of the flight both because she fed the balloon's fire box en route and by exhibiting her remarkable courage.^[5]

Private life

Little is known of Madame Thible; she is described as the abandoned spouse (épouse délaissée) of a Lyon merchant.^[6] No record of her survives as a professional opera singer. She died in Paris on 13 February 1785.^[7]

Film

• Venus im Wolkenschiff (Venus in the Cloud-ship) – WDR Fernsehen film by A. Reeker with Anouk Plany as Élisabeth Thible^[8]

See also

• Sophie Blanchard – French balloonist (1778–1819)

Notes

1. Count Jean-Baptiste de Laurencin (1740–1812) was one of the six passengers on the traumatic flight of the Montgolfier balloon Flesselles on 19 January 1784. The flight was about 720 seconds, and was piloted by Joseph Montgolfier, had ended dramatically when the balloon started to tear and smoulder. Although all passengers were unhurt, some attributed the accident as the reason the Count de Laurencin gave Élisabeth Thible his spot.

References

1. Tible, Elizabeth (1784). "Lettre à Mme ***[relatant les détails du voyage que j'ai fait dans les airs le 4 juin]" [Letter to Mrs *** [about my air travel the 4th of June]]. Journal encyclopédique ou universel, dédié à Son Alt. Sérénissime MGR. Le Duc de Bouillon Etc. Etc. Etc. (in French). 7 (1): 289–294. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
2. Gene Nora Jessen, The Powder Puff Derby of 1929, pg xi.
3. Ernst Probst, – Königinnen der Lüfte in Frankreich (Queens of the skies), France 2010, Page 61 "Élisabeth Thible (Tible) The first passenger of a Montgolfier".
4. Justin D. Murphy – Military Aircraft, Origins To 1918 2005 – Page 6 "In February 1784, Paolo Andreani, Agostino Gerli, and Carlo Gerli ascended in a Montgolfière outside Milan. On 4 June 1784, Élisabeth Thible became the first female aeronaut when she ascended over Lyons."
5. Gazette d'Amsterdam, 25 June 1784 and Journal des savants, November 1784, pp. 760–762.
6. Philippe Buron Pilâtre Pilâtre de Rozier: un Lorrain d'exception, 1754–1785 2006 – "Visiblement encore choqué par sa première expérience, Laurencin trouve habile de proposer à la très belle Madame Elisabeth Thible, épouse délaissée d'un grand commerçant de Lyon, de devenir la première femme aéronaute."
7. mariehelenelaplace (2024). "PERSONNAGE/Élisabeth Tible, une Lyonnaise en montgolfière". lyonnais.hypotheses.org. doi:10.58079/11rzw. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
8. "Venus im Wolkenschiff. Ein Frauen-Traum vom Fliegen | Film". kinematoscope.org. Retrieved 4 June 2022.

Other sources

• Jutta Rebmann: Als Frau in die Luft ging. Die Geschichte der frühen Pilotinnen (Women went into the air. The history of the early pilots.) Sieglitz. Precinct. ISBN 3-7987-0361-2