The spotlight will be on one of the early pioneers at an event in Lichfield this weekend.
Mark J Davies, biographer of James Sadler – known as The King of Balloons – will discuss the first English aeronaut at the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum on Saturday (October 29).
A spokesperson said: “Samuel Johnson and Erasmus Darwin were both fascinated by the new invention of the air balloon in the 1780s, and Johnson’s close friend, the statesman William Windham, was a key ally of James Sadler in enabling him to overcome the constraints of his upbringing as a pastry cook to become the first Englishman to build and fly a hot-air balloon in Oxford in 1784.”
Admission is free but places must be pre-booked. For more details visit the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum website.
