George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford, Letter Regarding Early Ballooning

On January 7, 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries embarked from Dover, England in a balloon, landing at Calais, France over two hours later having made the first flight over the English Channel. This collection consists of a letter from George Walpole, Earl of Orford, to Lord Sydney [Thomas Townshend, then Home Secretary], dated April 4, 1789. In the letter, Walpole discusses the importance of ballooning as a military advancement.

On January 7, 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries embarked from Dover, England in a balloon, landing at Calais, France over two hours later having made the first flight over the English Channel. George Walpole (1730--1791) succeeded his father as Earl of Orford in 1751, adding the title of Baron Clinton after his mother's death in 1781. Lord Orford served in various administrative and political capacities including as Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk beginning in 1757, Colonel of the Norfolk Militia in 1759, and as a Lord of the Bedchamber to King George II and later to King George III. Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1733--1800) served as a Whig Member of Parliament from 1754 to 1783, and was Home Secretary from 1783 to 1789 under British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger.