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Zénith (balloon)

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Zénith
View of engineer Joseph Crocé-Spinelli, naval officer Théodore Sivel, and Gaston Tissandier in the basket of the balloon Zénith, after losing consciousness due to lack of oxygen and reaching an altitude of nearly 8,500 m (28,000 ft), near Paris, France, in April 1875.
History
Manufactured1874

The Zénith was a gas balloon of 3,000 cubic metres (110,000 cu ft), manufactured in 1874 by Théodore Sivel [fr], funded by the French Air navigation company, which set records before causing the first deaths of aeronauts due to altitude in 1875.

Construction

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Designed by Théodore Sivel, the Zénith was assembled and sewn at Pignet, Sivel's family estate, with the help of women from Sauve in the Gard department, during the year 1874.[1]

Success of the Paris - Arcachon flight

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Diagram with the route of the Zenith's record-breaking flight from Paris to Arquichon, March 23-24, 1875 (from the book “L'Histoire de mes vols” by G. Thysandier)

On March 23 and 24, 1875, under the guidance of Paul Bert, the commander Théodore Sivel, engineer Joseph Croce-Spinelli, aeronauts Albert Tissandier, his brother Gaston Tissandier, editor-in-chief of the journal La Nature, and Claude Jobert achieved a long-duration flight (22 h 40), breaking all duration records[2][3][1]. The balloon took off at 16:20 from Paris and landed the next day at 17:00 in Arcachon.[1]

Departing from the gas plant of La Villette, currently[when?] corresponding to number 159, boulevard Macdonald [fr] in Paris, the landing took place in the commune of Lanton in the Gironde department. This flight led to numerous scientific observations, notably by Croce-Spinelli in charge of spectroscopic observations, the Tissandier brothers studying the chemical composition of the air at high altitude, measuring the proportions of gases and water vapor in rarefied air, Sivel managing the balloon and assisting in his companions' experiments[1].

Ciron Tragedy

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Course of events

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The Descent of Zénith

After the balloon Zénith was inflated under the supervision of Adrien Duté-Poitevin, Sivel's brother-in-law, three aeronauts, Théodore Sivel, Joseph Crocé-Spinelli, and Gaston Tissandier, took off near the gas plant of La Villette, located in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, on April 15, 1875, at 11:35, hoping to break the altitude record (8,800 metres [28,900 ft] at the time) and conduct observations.[citation needed]

Despite feeling unwell at 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) altitude, the three aeronauts decided to continue their ascent (recorders showed that the flight reached 8,600 metres [28,200 ft]). They all lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen (hypoxia).[4] Only Gaston Tissandier managed to regain consciousness to slow the descent, and the balloon landed violently, tearing against a tree but with little damage to the basket, in the afternoon on the territory of Ciron (Indre) near Le Blanc, 250 kilometres (160 mi) from Paris, at 16:00.[1] He alone survived – though he lost his hearing[5] – and described his adventure and that of his companions in La Nature on May 1, 1875[6] and in L'Aéronaute the following month.[7][8]

Aftermath of the Zenith balloon crash, April 15, 1875

This tragedy could hardly have been avoided as the effects of an altitude higher than 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) were unknown to them,[9] even though the adventure of James Glaisher in 1862 should have given them indications, but this British aeronaut was trained and had survived his high-altitude flight. Moreover, the letter from Paul Bert warning them of the need to carry larger oxygen supplies (theirs consisted of three small rubber balloons containing 70% oxygen, capable of sustaining breathing for an hour at most) did not reach them in time.[5][3] The too rapid ascent of the Zénith was a significant factor in the disaster.[10] “During the Great War, Maurice Dreyfous, who had been Gaston Tissandier's publisher, wrote in a book of memories that this great aeronaut revealed certain details about the Zénith disaster that he had previously hidden from the public. It was learned that it was Sivel, and not Crocé-Spinelli, who was responsible for the sudden and deadly ascent of the balloon. He, who was supposed to constantly monitor the balloon's altitude with the barometer, was a victim of his myopia and believed that the aerostat was about to touch the ground. He then threw overboard everything within his reach.[10]

In all drawings of the disaster, the actual shape of the Zénith basket was replaced by a square basket of less crude and more advantageous construction.[11][12]

Impact and Tributes

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Plaque of Rue Sivel in Paris evoking the death of the aeronaut

The announcement of this disaster had an impact in France and abroad, and more than twenty thousand people followed the funerals of Théodore Sivel and Joseph Crocé-Spinelli from the Gare d'Orléans to the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.[citation needed]

Monument

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A public subscription was opened by the Société française de navigation aérienne to help the families of the victims and to erect a commemorative monument at the landing site of the balloon.[13] It was designed by the architect Albert Tissandier (brother of Gaston Tissandier) and took the form of an obelisk in stone surrounded by a railing, on Rue de Eglise Saint-Georges in Ciron.[14][15] This monument was inaugurated on March 25, 1881, and later listed as a Historic Monument by decree on April 4, 2017.[15]

Performance Halls

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French performance halls named Zénith owe their name to this balloon. In 1981, Jack Lang, then Minister of Culture, decided to create a large-capacity hall located outside cities, suitable for rock and popular music, and inaugurated the concept "Le Zénith" with the Zénith de Paris to replace the Pavillon de Paris. The first hall built was located in the Parc de la Villette at the take-off site, with the Minister of Culture being inspired by this feat to name the structure.[16]

Tomb

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Tomb of Joseph Crocé-Spinelli and Théodore Sivel.

The remains of Joseph Crocé-Spinelli and Théodore Sivel were placed in a single tomb topped by their recumbent effigies lying on their backs, side by side with their hands intertwined.[17] This ensemble, located in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (71st division), is the work (1878) of artist Alphonse Dumilatre [fr] who depicted them as witnesses to the drama declared them to have been found.[18][19]

Odonymy

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Two streets in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, Rue Crocé-Spinelli [fr] and Rue Sivel [fr], pay tribute to the two victims of this aviation disaster.[citation needed]

Historical Scene and Music

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Score of Zénith for voice and piano, 1875.

Musical scores (voice and instrument) for the theater were published shortly after the disaster, such as those entitled Le Zénith (lyrics by Adolphe Perreau, music by Robert Planquette) or Les martyrs du Zénith, historical scene (lyrics by Julien Fauque, music by Jules Jacob), which remained on sale until 1901.[20]

Poem

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This ascent and the resulting tragedy inspired a poem, named Le Zénith, by the French poet and future first Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Sully Prudhomme.[21][22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Germain, Jean (January 1, 1952). Sauve: Antique et curieuse cité (in French). FeniXX réédition numérique. ISBN 978-2-402-19073-2. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  2. ^ Site leonc.fr, page "Paris - Arcachon : un voyage en ballon", accessed July 29, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Paul Bert: définition et explications". Techno-Science.net. Retrieved July 31, 2021..
  4. ^ Vignes, Henri (1992). Ciron : histoire d'un village du Bas-Berry. La Simarre - Association des familles Vignes-Bougon. ISBN 2-909184-02-1. OCLC 32211342.
  5. ^ a b Lecornu, Joseph-Louis (1903). "L'aérostation après la guerre". La navigation aérienne : histoire documentaire et anecdotique (in French). Nony. p. 310. BnF 30768510f.
  6. ^ Masson, Jean-Robert. Guide de Paris mystérieux. Les guides noirs. Tchou. pp. 329–330.
  7. ^ Tissandier, Gaston (June 1875). "L'Ascension à grande hauteur du 15 avril 1875". L'Aéronaute : Moniteur de la Société générale d'aérostation et d'automotion aériennes (in French): 167–185. BnF 32682910m. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  8. ^ Tissandier, Gaston (June 1, 2016). Histoire de mes ascensions: Récit de vingt-quatre voyages aériens (1868-1877). Collection XIX. ISBN 978-2-346-07069-5. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "La vocation de Pierrot". les nouvelles de Maramanche. claude.dupras.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Saint Amand, Jean P. (November 21, 2010). "Paris - Arcachon : un voyage en ballon". leonc.free.fr (in French). Retrieved July 31, 2021.[self-published source]
  11. ^ Delarue, Raoul (January 1894). "Les agrès du "Zenith"". L'Aérophile (in French): 80–81. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  12. ^ "On April 15, 1875, pilot Theodore Sivel, engineer Joseph Croce-Spinelli, and civilian Gaston Tissandier, took off in their balloon 'Zenith'..." mauritius images. Retrieved July 31, 2021.[better source needed]
  13. ^ Boyer, Jacques (April 15, 1935). "Le soixantième anniversaire de la catastrophe du ballon « Le Zénith »" [The sixtieth anniversary of the disaster of the balloon «Le Zénith»]. La Nature (in French). 2951.
  14. ^ "Monument commémoratif de la catastrophe du Zénith érigé à Ciron (Indre)". L'Aéronaute : Moniteur de la Société générale d'aérostation et d'automotion aériennes (in French). 10 (7): 187–189. July 1877. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Monument aux aéronautes Théodore Sivel et Joseph-Eustache Crocé-Spinelli". POP : la plateforme ouverte du patrimoine. Ministry of Culture (France) (in French). June 15, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  16. ^ "Zénith de Paris-La Villette". lavillette.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  17. ^ "Enlacés jusque dans la mort… une tombe du cimetière du Père-Lachaise à Paris". vdujardin.com (in French). September 6, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2021.[self-published source?]
  18. ^ "CROCÉ-SPINELLI Joseph Eustache (1845-15 avril 1875) et SIVEL Théodore (1834-15 avril 1875)". tombes-sepultures.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.[self-published source?]
  19. ^ "Tombe Crocé-Spinelli et Sivel - Paris 20ème (Cim. Père-Lachaise) le 15 Avril 1875". Aérostèles (in French). Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  20. ^ "Les martyrs du "Zénith" scène historique paroles de Julien Fauque ; musique de Jules Jacob". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  21. ^ Œuvres de Sully Prudhomme: Poésies 1872-1878 (in French). A. Lemerre. 1879. pp. 247–261.
  22. ^ Marx, William (2012). "Chapter V". L'Adieu à la littérature: Histoire d'une dévalorisation. Paradoxe. Éditions de Minuit. ISBN 9782707319364.

Bibliography

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  • Planque, François-Xavier (November 2022). "La catastrophe du ballon scientifique le Zénith à Ciron, dans l'Indre le 15 avril 1875". Cercle d'histoire d'Argenton (in French). 39: 24–36. ISSN 0983-1657.
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