Clive Davenhall

University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Abstract

Dr Katterfelto and the Prehistory of Astronomical Ballooning

Astronomical observations were first made from balloons after World War II, though scientific, particularly meteorological, ballooning dates from the mid-nineteenth century. However, astronomical ballooning has a curious prehistory at the very dawn of lighter-than-air travel in the late eighteenth century. The self-styled Dr Katterfelto (c.1743-99) was a German-born travelling showman, lecturer and considerable self-publicist who performed throughout Britain during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. His performances were a mixture of genuine scientific instruction with conjuring tricks and other entertainment. In 1784-85 he claimed to have made significant astronomical discoveries from observations made from a hot-air balloon. It seems unlikely that he actually made any such observations, or, indeed, any balloon flights. However, the episode throws some light on the world of the itinerant eighteenth century astronomical lecturer and its role in the diffusion of contemporary astronomical and scientific knowledge.

Biographical Details

Clive Davenhall has a long-standing interest in the history of astronomy. Since 2004 he has been the Editor of the Society for the History of Astronomy’s twice-yearly Bulletin (previously Newsletter) and he has contributed entries to the Biographical Encyclopaedia of Astronomers. For many years he worked as an astronomical programmer at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. He is currently a Senior Research Engineer at the National eScience Centre (NeSC), University of Edinburgh.