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Category: Aviation

Published engraved image showing a crowd observing the balloon "Intrepid," leaving the ground in the distance.

Nothing Happens in Washington without a Purchase Order: William J. Rhees and Thaddeus Lowe’s Balloons, 1861

Posted by: Michelle Krowl

In summer 1861, William J. Rhees, chief clerk of the Smithsonian Institution, wrote to his wife about Professor Thaddeus Lowe’s balloon experiments on the National Mall . . . including the reason one ascent never got off the ground. Because (almost) nothing in Washington happens without first securing a purchase order or an appropriation.

Octave Chanute, black and white head and shoulders portrait photograph.

Flying Manuscripts

Posted by: Lewis Wyman

The Library of Congress Manuscript Division holds the papers of aviation pioneer Octave Chanute, which include correspondence between Chanute, George Spratt, and the Wright Brothers. These letters provide insights into their aeronautical experiments as they share ideas on wing design, lift, drag and other problems facing early experimenters.