author
Henry Tracey Coxwell
1819–1900
A daring Victorian balloonist, he turned flights into scientific adventures and helped push high-altitude exploration into the public imagination. Best known for his dramatic ascent with meteorologist James Glaisher, he wrote vividly about the thrill and risk of life above the clouds.
2 Audiobooks
My life and balloon experiences : With a supplementary chapter on military ballooning
by Henry Tracey Coxwell
A knight of the air : or, The aerial rivals
by Henry Tracey Coxwell
About the author
Born in Wouldham, Kent, on March 2, 1819, Henry Tracey Coxwell was trained for practical work and at one point practiced as a dentist, but ballooning became the passion that defined his life. After making his first ascent in the 1840s, he went on to become one of the best-known aeronauts in Britain, carrying out public and scientific flights across Britain and continental Europe.
He is most closely associated with the famous 1862 balloon ascent with James Glaisher, a flight remembered for reaching an extreme altitude during atmospheric research. When Glaisher became incapacitated in the freezing thin air, Coxwell managed to bring the balloon down, and that feat helped secure his place in the history of aviation and science.
Coxwell also wrote about ballooning, sharing both its excitement and its practical challenges with Victorian readers. He died on January 5, 1900, leaving behind the image of a calm, capable showman-scientist who helped make early flight feel both adventurous and real.