First Channel Crossing by Balloon

January 7, 1785

Jean-Pierre Blanchard and the American doctor John Jeffries crossed from Dover to Calais in a hydrogen balloon, throwing out ballast including their clothes as they sagged toward the waves. They landed in a French forest in their underthings. A new kind of travel was possible, if not yet practical. The crossing proved that the English Channel, England's ancient shield against invasion, could be overflown by anyone with nerve and gas.