Aviation
The inventive Tytler, familiar with chemistry, rivalled the French pioneers of hot air ballooning and became the first person in Britain to fly such a novelty air-craft. His venture was expensive, but succeeded after some attempts on 25 August 1784, in Edinburgh. His manned balloon rose a few feet from the ground. Two days later he managed to reach a height of some 350 feet, travelling for half a mile. Later trials, again, were less fortunate. In October his balloon rose significantly only after Tytler left the attached basket, to the disappointment of the crowd. Consequently Tytler, having been 'the toast of Edinburgh', was ridiculed and called a coward. His last flight was on 26 July 1785.
Tytler was overshadowed by Vincenzo Lunardi—the self-styled "Daredevil Aeronaut"—who carried out five sensational launches in Scotland that created a ballooning fad and inspired ladies' fashions in skirts and hats. The "Lunardi bonnet" is mentioned in the poem To a Louse by Robert Burns.
Read more about this topic: James Tytler