Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Wednesday, October 09, 2024
Up, up, and away. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Now is the time to make a plan. Whether you plan to vote absentee by mail, in person at your county auditor's office before Election Day, or at your polling place on November 5th, it's important you take steps now to make your plan at voterready.iowa.gov. Whether Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th, find more information at voterready.iowa.gov. This message presented by the Iowa Secretary of State. We take air travel for granted these days, but it wasn't that long ago that soaring through the sky was quite a novelty. While the first public demonstration of an unmanned hot air balloon was in France in 1783, it took 62 years before a similar event occurred in Iowa. It was for Independence Day 1845, and an unmanned balloon was sent aloft in Burlington, staying in the sky for close to an hour. On October 9th, 1856, some 15,000 people gathered in Muscatine for the third Iowa State Fair. Among that day's attractions was the first manned balloon ascension ever in our state. The balloon was owned by Silas Brooks and was called Hercules. Newspapers called the event entertainment with a very heavy expense, and the greatest novelty that has ever visited this city. At around 4.30pm, the balloon began to rise, and a man now known only as Mr. Leonard climbed into the basket. He drifted for 45 minutes coming back to Earth in Cedar County, 3 miles north of Wilton, and 15 miles from where he started in Muscatine. The first manned balloon ascension in Iowa, a highlight of the third Iowa State Fair in Muscatine, happened on this date in 1856. And that's Iowa Almanac for October 9th. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.