Crossing the Atlantic
Works Cited
Balloon Corps
- Inspired by a hoax by Edgar Allen Poe about a man crossing the Atlantic in a "steering balloon"
- Made his balloon in 1857, realized he would need bigger to cross the Atlantic
- Developed the altimeter
- planned to travel from Cincinnati to Washington D.C., but accidentally landed instead in South Carolina
- Never crossed Atlantic, but inspired his work on balloons
"Thaddeus S.C. Lowe." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 31. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
"Civil War Ballooning." Civil War Ballooning. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. <http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/ballooning.cfm>.
"Professor Lowe’s 1861 Balloon Voyage to Union, S.C." South Carolina Digital Newspaper Program. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. <http://library.sc.edu/blogs/newspaper/2011/06/16/professor-lowes-1861-balloon-voyage-to-union-s-c/>.
Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. <http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/thaddeus-sobieski-constantine-lowe.html>.
- Convinced Lincoln to use balloons for reconnaissance during the Civil War
- Led to development of a Union army balloon corps
- Created the portable hydrogen gas generator that allowed balloons to accompany the army when needed
- Observed enemy defensive dispositions during the advance on Richmond, identified the buildup of Confederate troops before the Battle of Seven Pines
- Was able to provide artillery spotting in almost real time
- Resigned from balloon corps in 1863
Life Summary
How he related to me
The main reason that I picked ts scientist was because I have practiced magic as a hobby for a few years and in his early life he was an assistant in a traveling magic show. I also found it interesting that he used science to help the Union win the Civil War.
- Kite flying was prominent in a childhood town where he wondered on how living creatures handled high altitudes and built a multiple tiered kite that he used to send a cat into the air
- Became an assistant in Reginald B. Dincklehoff traveling magic show for two years
- Discovered that by adjusting the amount of hydrogen in a balloon and the ballast it carried, one could regulate its altitude as well as coating the outside with more varnish would hold hydrogen longer
Lowe Manufacturing Company
- Used his ice machine on a ship to transfer perishable goods the longest distance than had ever been done before
- Found a way to use hydrogen gas for heating and lighting, more efficient than coal gas
- Ice machine made him rich
- Improvements have been made to his ice machine such as having them air or liquid cooled, smaller, and providing ice in different shapes
Thaddeus S.C. Lowe
By Calvin Golas P.2