168-557: Since early in the history of flight , non-human animals have been dropped from heights with the benefit of parachutes . Early on, animals were used as test subjects for parachutes and as entertainment. Following the development of the balloon , dogs, cats, fowl, and sheep were dropped from heights. During the 18th and 19th-century ballooning craze known as balloonomania , many aeronauts included parachuting animals such as monkeys in their demonstrations. Later, animals were parachuted from airplanes, as test subjects, for amusement, and as
336-724: A Podkomorzy at Court, Franciszek Poniatowski (1723–1749), Canon of Wawel Cathedral who suffered from epilepsy and Aleksander Poniatowski (1725–1744), an officer killed in the Rhineland-Palatinate during the War of the Austrian Succession . His younger brothers were, Andrzej Poniatowski (1734–1773), an Austrian Feldmarschall , Michał Jerzy Poniatowski (1736–94) who became Primate of Poland . His two older and married sisters were Ludwika Zamoyska (1728–1804) and Izabella Branicka (1730–1808). Among his nephews
504-510: A bat bomb . The device consisted of a bomb-shaped casing with over a thousand compartments, each containing a hibernating Mexican free-tailed bat with a small, timed incendiary bomb attached. Dropped from a bomber at dawn, the casings would deploy a parachute mid-flight and open to release the bats, which would then disperse and roost in eaves and attics in a 20–40-mile radius (32–64 km). The incendiaries, which were set on timers, would then ignite and start fires in inaccessible places in
672-410: A 145 lb (66 kg) St. Bernard , was fitted with a custom oxygen mask before being dropped from a plane at 26,000 ft (7,900 m). Witnesses to the test, which was to determine the impact of high altitudes on parachute straps, reported seeing Major dogpaddling during his descent. The rhesus macaque Albert I was launched in a V-2 Rocket on 18 June 1948. The respiratory apparatus and
840-432: A 7-winged rocket propelled by 50 okka (140 lbs) of gunpowder . The flight was said to have been undertaken at the time of the birth of Sultan Murad IV 's daughter. As Evliya Celebi wrote, Lagari proclaimed before launching his craft "O my sultan! Be blessed, I am going to talk to Jesus!"; after ascending in the rocket, he landed in the sea, swimming ashore and joking "O my sultan! Jesus sends his regards to you!"; he
1008-405: A bird rather than an engine-powered propeller. Leonardo studied bird and bat flight, claiming the superiority of the latter owing to its unperforated wing. He analyzed these and anticipating many principles of aerodynamics. He understood that "An object offers as much resistance to the air as the air does to the object." Isaac Newton did not publish his third law of motion until 1687. From
1176-467: A book to a discussion of Poniatowski, The Dispute over Stanisław August ( Spór o Stanisława Augusta , Warsaw, 1988). He notes that the discourse concerning Poniatowski is significantly coloured by the fact that he was the last King of Poland – the King who failed to save the country. This failure, and his prominent position, rendered him a convenient scapegoat for many. Zahorski argues that Poniatowski made
1344-488: A chimpanzee served as the test subject for the escape capsule and parachuted to the ground unharmed. Bears were sent up for subsequent tests, with one sent up on 27 July reported to have suffered "internal injuries of some severity". In July 1962, four hamsters, two rhesus monkeys, and several flower beetles were sent in a 39-hour, 1,920-mile (3,090 km) high-altitude balloon trip from Goose Bay , Labrador , as part of an experiment by NASA's Ames Research Center to test
1512-637: A commissioner. He spent most of January 1752 at the Austrian court in Vienna . Later that year, after serving at the Radom Tribunal and meeting King Augustus III of Poland , he was elected deputy of the Sejm (Polish parliament). While there his father secured for him the title of Starosta of Przemyśl . In March 1753, he travelled to Hungary and Vienna, where he again met with Williams. He returned to
1680-633: A conspiracy and a threat to their absolute monarchies. Prussian statesman Ewald von Hertzberg expressed the fears of European conservatives: "The Poles have given the coup de grâce to the Prussian monarchy by voting in a constitution", elaborating that a strong Commonwealth would likely demand the return of the lands Prussia acquired in the First Partition; a similar sentiment was later expressed by Prussian Foreign Minister, Count Friedrich Wilhelm von der Schulenburg-Kehnert . Russia's wars with
1848-430: A contemporary who knew them both, this rumour only spread after the death of Poniatowski, was generally disbelieved, and moreover, was circulated by Elżbieta herself, so the marriage is considered by most to be unlikely. He had several notable lovers, including Elżbieta Branicka , who acted as his political adviser and financier, and had children with two of them. With Magdalena Agnieszka Sapieżyna (1739–1780), he became
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#17327939885082016-525: A coup as long as King Augustus was alive. Upon the death of Poland's King Augustus III in October 1763, lobbying began for the election of the new king . Catherine threw her support behind Poniatowski. The Russians spent about 2.5m rubles in aid of his election. Poniatowski's supporters and opponents engaged in some military posturing and even minor clashes. In the end, the Russian army was deployed only
2184-589: A day the monkey would parachute from the roof of the Royal Aquarium in Westminster. His handler Mademoiselle Eichlerette reported training three "Monkey Baldwins" and toured India and the United States for six years with her act. In 1893, aeronaut Jennie Leland had a parachuting dog named "Rollo" as part of her act. The American aeronaut Hazel Keyes had a monkey named "Miss Jennie Yan-Yan" who
2352-657: A duck, a rooster, and a sheep were carried by a Montgolfier brother balloon for eight minutes. In the early 1780s, Louis-Sébastien Lenormand parachuted a cat and a dog from the top of Babotte Tower in Montpellier , France. In 1784, the Marquis de Brantes parachuted a sheep from the roof of the Palais des Papes in Avignon . Soon after, Joseph Montgolfier dropped animals from towers to test parachute-like devices. During
2520-543: A few kilometres from the election sejm , which met at Wola near Warsaw. In the event, there were no other serious contenders, and during the convocation sejm on 7 September 1764 , 32-year-old Poniatowski was elected king, with 5,584 votes. He swore the pacta conventa on 13 November, and a formal coronation took place in Warsaw on 25 November. The new king's "uncles" in the Familia would have preferred another nephew on
2688-531: A floating assembly hall on Lake Constance in the Bay of Manzell, Friedrichshafen . This was intended to ease the starting procedure, as the hall could easily be aligned with the wind. The prototype airship LZ 1 (LZ for "Luftschiff Zeppelin") had a length of 128 m (420 ft) was driven by two 10.6 kW (14.2 hp) Daimler engines and balanced by moving a weight between its two nacelles. Its first flight, on 2 July 1900, lasted for only 18 minutes, as LZ 1
2856-583: A fondness for books which continued throughout his life. He went on his first foreign trip in 1748, with elements of the Imperial Russian army as it advanced into the Rhineland to aid Maria Theresia 's troops during the War of the Austrian Succession which ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) . This enabled Poniatowski both to visit the city, also known as Aachen , and to venture into
3024-455: A height of 2000 to 3000 feet. Three large 'chutes per mule were not enough to guarantee a happy landing. Those that didn't make it became fresh rations. Later in 1945, the British successfully devised crates with airbags for 900 lb (410 kg) mules that were dropped by parachute from C-47s . The U.S. Army experimented again with parachuting a mule in 1946. A sedated mule was strapped to
3192-433: A human body. The science of mechanics might perhaps suggest a means, namely, a strong spiral spring. If these advantages and requisites are observed, perhaps in time to come someone might know how better to utilise our sketch and cause some addition to be made so as to accomplish that which we can only suggest. Yet there are sufficient proofs and examples from nature that such flights can take place without danger, although when
3360-580: A large gallery of paintings in Warsaw was disrupted by the dismemberment of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Most of the paintings that he had ordered for it can now be seen in London's Dulwich Picture Gallery . Poniatowski also planned to found an Academy of Fine Arts , but this finally came about only after his abdication and departure from Warsaw. Poniatowski accomplished much in the realm of education and literature. He established
3528-482: A light frame covered with strong canvas and provided with two large oars or wings moving on a horizontal axis, arranged so that the upstroke met with no resistance while the downstroke provided lifting power. Swedenborg knew that the machine would not fly, but suggested it as a start and was confident that the problem would be solved. He wrote: "It seems easier to talk of such a machine than to put it into actuality, for it requires greater force and less weight than exists in
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#17327939885083696-715: A major "rage" in Europe in the late 18th century, providing the first detailed understanding of the relationship between altitude and the atmosphere. Non-steerable balloons were employed during the American Civil War by the Union Army Balloon Corps . The young Ferdinand von Zeppelin first flew as a balloon passenger with the Union Army of the Potomac in 1863. In the early 1900s, ballooning
3864-496: A means of transporting working animals . During World War II, the many dogs parachuted from planes came to be known as "paradogs". Animal test subjects included a bear parachuted at supersonic speeds. Bat bombs , devised by the U.S. military, were designed to parachute a canister containing thousands of bomb-laden bats in Japan. Parachutes have also been used to transport animals, including mules and sheepdogs. In 1948, beaver drops in
4032-530: A new order, the Order of Virtuti Militari , to reward Poles for exceptional military leadership and courage in combat. Despite Polish requests, Prussia refused to honour its alliance obligations. In the end, the numerical superiority of the Russians was too great, and defeat looked inevitable. Poniatowski's attempts at negotiations with Russia proved futile. In July 1792, when Warsaw was threatened with siege by
4200-555: A nut) appeared in Europe in the 14th century AD. From ancient times the Chinese have understood that hot air rises and have applied the principle to a type of small hot air balloon called a sky lantern . A sky lantern consists of a paper balloon under or just inside which a small lamp is placed. Sky lanterns are traditionally launched for pleasure and during festivals. According to Joseph Needham , such lanterns were known in China from
4368-423: A padded pallet and dropped from a C-47 by a static line at a height of 25,000 ft (7,600 m). Jacksonia, a monkey captured from the island of Luzon , made two jumps by parachute in Japan during World War II with a sergeant from the 11th Airborne Division . Boudgie, an African parachuting monkey, received a North Africa campaign ribbon and was credited with saving the life of her handler four times. During
4536-620: A parachuting dog for the Polish king Stanisław August Poniatowski . In April 1835, a dog was parachuted from the roof of a theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio. That same year, balloonist Charles Green parachuted a monkey from the Surrey Zoological Gardens named Jacopo from his balloon as he was over Walworth . Jacopo would later return to the air with Margaret Graham two years later. Balloon-parachute acts were popular in
4704-539: A parachuting dog in 1928. Despite growing concerns for animal welfare in parachute acts, few performances were stopped. Nonetheless, the use of animals in daredevil acts became increasingly rare in the 20th century. In 1929, two planned parachute drops of monkeys at Roosevelt Field in Long Island were cancelled. The first, by Charles de Bevere and his monkey "Jumpy" was stopped by clubwomen from Garden City. A second drop, by parachutist Saul Debever and his monkey,
4872-529: A pension granted to him by Catherine. Despite financial troubles, he still supported some of his former allies, and continued to try to represent the Polish cause at the Russian court. He also worked on his memoirs. Poniatowski died of a stroke on 12 February 1798. Paul I sponsored a royal state funeral, and on 3 March he was buried at the Catholic Church of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg. In 1938, when
5040-506: A platform. Two triple clusters of 28 ft (8.5 m) statichutes were used and the mule was dropped from 600 ft (180 m), landing at 15 ft/s (4.6 m/s). After the successful test, mules were transported via the Chabua 44th Air Depot from Assam, India. It was hard to know who kicked harder. The mules slipped and slid on an aluminum floor, protesting every shove toward the portside drop. The Americans dropped their mules from
5208-466: A poem by Muhammad I of Córdoba 's 9th-century court poet Mu'min ibn Said, recounts that Firnas flew some distance before landing with some injuries, attributed to his lacking a tail (as birds use them to land). In the 12th century, William of Malmesbury wrote that Eilmer of Malmesbury , an 11th-century Benedictine monk, attached wings to his hands and feet and flew a short distance, but broke both legs while landing, also having neglected to make himself
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5376-470: A policy of religious tolerance , the Familia was opposed to it. The growing rift between Poniatowski and the Familia was exploited by the Russians, who used the issue as a pretext to intervene in the Commonwealth's internal politics and to destabilize the country. Catherine had no wish to see Poniatowski's reform succeed. She had supported his ascent to the throne to ensure the Commonwealth remained
5544-721: A proper nationwide uprising afterward is seen as cowardice and the key reason for the Second Partition and the subsequent downfall of Poland. Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski was born on 17 January 1732 in Wołczyn (then in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and now Vowchyn, Belarus ). He was one of eight surviving children, and the fourth son, of Princess Konstancja Czartoryska and of Count Stanisław Poniatowski , Ciołek coat of arms , Castellan of Kraków . His older brothers were Kazimierz Poniatowski (1721–1800),
5712-447: A rider's basket, a tail, and a steering rudder. Critics argued that the thin copper spheres could not sustain ambient air pressure, and further experiments proved that his idea was impossible. The technique of using a vacuum to create lift is called a vacuum airship , but it is still impossible to build with the materials available today. In 1709, Bartolomeu de Gusmão approached King John V of Portugal and claimed to have discovered
5880-484: A sheep with a parachute was unsuccessful. Later that year, a Mr Durry in Ireland repeated the feat, with a dog "suspended over the side of the gondola, wearing nothing but a parachute, and dropped". Blanchard took a 12 lb (5.4 kg) cat up in his balloon. He placed the cat in a net connected by a long cord to a parachute and then slowly lowered the parachute from the gondola until it opened up. The cat descended to
6048-409: A static line which would open after they cleared the door. In the 1950s, during Operation Deep Freeze , a series of United States missions to Antarctica , working dogs were intended to be parachuted in. Most modern parachuting dogs have specially designed harnesses and make tandem jumps with their handlers. During World War II , the United States military developed an experimental weapon known as
6216-650: A steerable (or dirigible) balloon continued sporadically throughout the 19th century. The first powered, controlled, sustained lighter-than-air flight is believed to have taken place in 1852 when Henri Giffard flew 15 miles (24 km) in France, with a steam engine-driven craft. Another advance was made in 1884, when the first fully controllable free-flight was made in a French Army electric-powered airship, La France , by Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs . The 170-foot (52 m) long, 66,000-cubic-foot (1,900 m ) airship covered 8 km (5.0 mi) in 23 minutes with
6384-775: A stunt by her handler Bill Wynne and won the Best Mascot of the Southwest Pacific Area award. Rob , a Collie, was alleged to have made over 20 parachute descents during the North African campaign of World War II, serving with the SAS , and was awarded a Dickin Medal. In 2006, his jumps were revealed as a possible hoax perpetrated by members of his regiment to prevent the dog from returning to his original owners. Some paradogs were killed in action. A Doberman with
6552-683: A tail. Many others made well-documented jumps in the following centuries. As late as 1811, Albrecht Berblinger constructed an ornithopter and jumped into the Danube at Ulm. The kite may have been the first form of man-made aircraft. It was invented in China possibly as far back as the 5th century BC by Mozi (Mo Di) and Lu Ban (Gongshu Ban). Later designs often emulated flying insects, birds, and other beasts, both real and mythical. Some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying. Ancient and mediaeval Chinese sources describe kites being used to measure distances, test
6720-583: A test subject for the boxes, repeatedly parachuting to the ground. The Idaho Fish and Game Department produced a 14-minute film about the relocation and the program was written up in an April 1950 article in the Journal of Wildlife Management titled "Transplanting Beavers by Airplane and Parachute". In 1949, shepherds in Carbon County, Utah , had a shortage of sheepdogs to protect their flocks, many of them having been poisoned by coyote bait. Due to snow,
6888-656: A threat to their traditional liberties and privileges granted centuries earlier. The defining crisis of his early reign was the War of the Bar Confederation (1768–1772) that led to the First Partition of Poland (1772). The later part of his reign saw reforms wrought by the Diet (1788–1792) and the Constitution of 3 May 1791 . These reforms were overthrown by the 1792 Targowica Confederation and by
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7056-688: A tower. The Greek legends of Daedalus and Icarus are some of the earliest known. Others originated in ancient Asia and the European Middle Ages. During this early period, the concepts of lift, stability, and control were not well understood, and most attempts resulted in serious injuries or death. The Andalusian scientist Abbas ibn Firnas (810–887 AD) attempted to fly in Córdoba, Spain , by covering his body with vulture feathers and attached two wings to his arms. The 17th-century Algerian historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari , quoting
7224-479: A virtual puppet state under Russian control, so his attempts to reform the Commonwealth's ailing government structures were a threat to the status quo . Matters came to a head in 1766. During the Sejm in October of that year, Poniatowski attempted to push through a radical reform, restricting the disastrous liberum veto provision. He was opposed by conservatives such as Michał Wielhorski , who were supported by
7392-471: A way for airborne flight. Due to the King's illness, Gusmão's experiment was rescheduled from its initial June 24, 1709, date to August 8. The experiment was carried out in front of the king and other nobles in the Casa da India yard, but the paper ship or device burned down before it could take flight. In France, five aviation firsts were accomplished between June 4 and December 1, 1783: Ballooning became
7560-583: A work by De Daugnon, an anecdote is quoted that happened to his mother, Constance, in 1732. An Italian named Antonio Formica appears before her, who was assumed to be an astrologer. Seeing the child born on 17 January of that year, he predicted that he would be king of the Poles. The prediction came true many years later, and fortunately there are records of the existence of a Sicilian physician Dr. Antonio Formica, who lived in Poland during those years, closely linked to
7728-464: Is considered the earliest example of man-made flight. Leonardo da Vinci 's 15th-century dream of flight found expression in several rational designs, though hindered by the limitations of contemporary science. In the late 18th century, the Montgolfier brothers invented the hot-air balloon and began manned flights. At almost the same time, the discovery of hydrogen gas led to the invention of
7896-592: Is discussed in Luise Mühlbach 's novel Joseph II and His Court , and appears in Jane Porter 's 1803 novel, Thaddeus of Warsaw . On screen he has been played by Wieńczysław Gliński in the 1976 3 Maja directed by Grzegorz Królikiewicz. He appears in a Russian TV series . Poniatowski is depicted in numerous portraits, medals and coins. He is prominent in Jan Matejko 's work, especially in
8064-419: Is done to repopulate the lakes with fish for recreational anglers given that the fish don't naturally reproduce in them. In 2021 the agency stated that it dropped as many as 35,000 fish during each flight, with a 95 percent survival rate. Flights are conducted each summer. The Division of Wildlife Resources states that restocking the lakes by air is cheaper than transporting the fish overland and less stressful for
8232-405: Is viewed with ambivalence as a brave and skillful statesman by some and as an overly hesitant coward by others, and even as a traitor. He is criticized primarily for his failure to resolutely stand against opposing forces and prevent the partitions , which led to the destruction of the Polish state. On the other hand, he is remembered as a great patron of arts and sciences who laid the foundation for
8400-663: The Cardinal Laws . Although it had abandoned the cause of Poniatowski's reforms, the Familia did not receive the support it expected from the Russians who continued to press for the conservatives' rights. Meanwhile, other factions now rallied under the banner of the Bar Confederation , aimed against the conservatives, Poniatowski and the Russians. After an unsuccessful attempt to raise allies in Western Europe, France, Britain and Austria, Poniatowski and
8568-532: The Chamberlain Basin in Central Idaho. The beaver drop program was started to address complaints about property damage from residents and involved flying 76 beavers by airplane and parachuting them down to the ground. Parachuting the beavers proved to be more cost-effective than alternative methods of relocation and also decreased beaver mortality rates . An older beaver named "Geronimo" was
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#17327939885088736-564: The Columbia Gardens amusement park, mid-way through his parachute descent before a crowd of thousands, he fell. He had apparently gnawed through the ropes tying him to the parachute, fell around 1,000 ft (300 m), and was "crushed to a shapeless pulp on the roof of the pavilion". In 1912, a chimpanzee named Topsy performed around the United States in a balloon-parachute act. Air shows with stunt flyers also featured parachuting animals. Harold "Daredevil" Lockwood, for one, had
8904-595: The Commission of National Education , the first institution of its kind in the world, the Great Sejm of 1788–1792, which led to the Constitution of 3 May 1791 and as a sponsor of many architectural landmarks. Historians tend to agree that, taking the circumstances into account, he was a skillful statesman, pointing out that passing the Constitution was a sign of bravery, although his unwillingness to organize
9072-527: The Convair B-58 Hustler . The first supersonic ejection test occurred on 21 March 1962 at the speed of Mach 1.3 at 35,000 ft (11,000 m) and the bear survived the nearly eight-minute parachute descent. A bear was ejected again from a height of 45,000 ft (14,000 m) on 6 April. After examination, it was determined that the bear had received minor hemorrhage of the neck muscles from whiplash and two pelvic bone fractures. On 8 June,
9240-586: The Familia had no choice but to rely more heavily on the Russian Empire, which treated Poland as a protectorate . In the War of the Bar Confederation (1768–1772), Poniatowski supported the Russian army's repression of the Bar Confederation. In 1770, the Council of the Bar Confederation proclaimed him dethroned. The following year, he was kidnapped by Bar Confederates and was briefly held prisoner outside of Warsaw, but he managed to escape. In view of
9408-496: The French Revolution . Experiments with gliders provided the groundwork for learning the dynamics of heavier-than-air craft, most notably by Cayley, Otto Lilienthal , and Octave Chanute . By the early 20th century, advances in engine technology and aerodynamics made controlled, powered flight possible for the first time. In 1903, following their pioneering research and experiments with wing design and aircraft control,
9576-470: The Monitor . Writers and poets who received his patronage included, Stanisław Trembecki , Franciszek Salezy Jezierski , Franciszek Bohomolec and Franciszek Zabłocki . He also supported publishers including, Piotr Świtkowski, and library owners such as Józef Lex. He supported the development of the sciences, particularly cartography ; he hired a personal cartographer, Karol de Perthees, even before he
9744-658: The Netherlands . On his return journey he stopped in Dresden . The following year Poniatowski was apprenticed to the office of Michał Fryderyk Czartoryski , the then Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania . In 1750, he travelled to Berlin where he met a British diplomat, Charles Hanbury Williams , who became his mentor and friend. In 1751, Poniatowski was elected to the Treasury Tribunal in Radom , where he served as
9912-561: The Partition Sejm of 1773–1775, in which Russia was represented by ambassador Otto von Stackelberg , with no allied assistance forthcoming from abroad and with the armies of the partitioning powers occupying Warsaw to compel the Sejm by force of arms, no alternative was available save submission to their will. Eventually Poniatowski and the Sejm acceded to the "partition treaty". At the same time, several other reforms were passed. The Cardinal Laws were confirmed and guaranteed by
10080-793: The Polish–Russian War of 1792 , leading directly to the Second Partition of Poland (1793), the Kościuszko Uprising (1794) and the final and Third Partition of Poland (1795), marking the end of the Commonwealth. Stripped of all meaningful power, Poniatowski abdicated in November 1795 and spent the last years of his life as a captive in Saint Petersburg's Marble Palace . A controversial figure in Poland's history , he
10248-625: The School of Chivalry , also called the "Cadet Corps", which functioned from 1765 to 1794 and whose alumni included Tadeusz Kościuszko . He supported the creation of the Commission of National Education , considered to be the world's first Ministry of Education. In 1765 he helped found the Monitor , one of the first Polish newspapers and the leading periodical of the Polish Enlightenment. He sponsored many articles that appeared in
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#173279398850810416-404: The Sejm in September 1764 following the death of Augustus III . Contrary to expectations, Poniatowski attempted to reform and strengthen the large but ailing Commonwealth. His efforts were met with external opposition from neighbouring Prussia , Russia and Austria , all committed to keeping the Commonwealth weak. From within he was opposed by conservative interests, which saw the reforms as
10584-475: The Soviet Union planned to demolish the Church, his remains were transferred to the Second Polish Republic and interred in a church at Wołczyn , his birthplace. This was done in secret and caused controversy in Poland when the matter became known. In 1990, due to the poor state of the Wołczyn church (then in the Byelorussian SSR ), his body was once more exhumed and was brought to Poland, to St. John's Cathedral in Warsaw, where on 3 May 1791 he had celebrated
10752-473: The Targowica Confederation to overthrow the Constitution, which they saw as a threat to the traditional freedoms and privileges they enjoyed. The confederates aligned themselves with Russia's Catherine the Great, and the Russian army entered Poland, marking the start of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 , also known as the War in Defence of the Constitution. The Sejm voted to increase the Polish Army to 100,000 men, but due to insufficient time and funds this number
10920-493: The Wright brothers successfully incorporated all of the required elements to create and fly the first aeroplane. The basic configuration with its characteristic tail was established by 1909, followed by rapid design and performance improvements aided by the development of more powerful engines. The first great ships of the air were the rigid dirigible balloons pioneered by Ferdinand von Zeppelin , which soon became synonymous with airships and dominated long-distance flight until
11088-638: The cambered aerofoil , dihedral , diagonal bracing and drag reduction, and contributed to the understanding and design of ornithopters and parachutes . In 1848, he had progressed far enough to construct a glider in the form of a triplane large and safe enough to carry a child. A local boy was chosen but his name is not known. Stanis%C5%82aw August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus , and as Stanisław August Poniatowski ( Lithuanian : Stanislovas Augustas Poniatovskis ),
11256-414: The hydrogen balloon . Various theories in mechanics by physicists during the same period, such as fluid dynamics and Newton's laws of motion , led to the foundation of modern aerodynamics , most notably by Sir George Cayley . Balloons, both free-flying and tethered, began to be used for military purposes from the end of the 18th century, with the French government establishing balloon companies during
11424-499: The "Stanisław August style" by Polish art historian Władysław Tatarkiewicz . His chief architects included Domenico Merlini and Jan Kammsetzer . He was also patron to numerous painters. They included Poles such as his protégée, Anna Rajecka and Franciszek Smuglewicz , Jan Bogumił Plersch, son of Jan Jerzy Plersch , Józef Wall, and Zygmunt Vogel , as well as foreign painters including, Marcello Bacciarelli , Bernardo Bellotto , Jean Pillement , Ludwik Marteau , and Per Krafft
11592-423: The "Stanisław Augustus Code") was among the proposals. Poniatowski also planned a reform to improve the situation of Polish Jews . In foreign policy, spurned by Russia, Poland turned to another potential ally, the Triple Alliance , represented on the Polish diplomatic scene primarily by the Kingdom of Prussia , which led to the formation of the ultimately futile Polish–Prussian alliance . The pro-Prussian shift
11760-486: The "years of hope." The Familia , which was interested in strengthening its own power base, was dissatisfied with his conciliatory attitude as he reached out to many former opponents of their policies. This uneasy alliance between Poniatowski and the Familia continued for most of the first decade of his rule. One of the points of contention between Poniatowski and the Familia concerned the rights of religious minorities in Poland. Whereas Poniatowski reluctantly supported
11928-458: The 1776 reforms, and to prevent Poniatowski from growing too powerful, it supported the opposition during the Sejm of 1778. This marked the end of Poniatowski's reforms, as he found himself without sufficient support to carry them through. In the 1780s, Catherine appeared to favour Poniatowski marginally over the opposition, but she did not support any of his plans for significant reform. Despite repeated attempts, Poniatowski failed to confederate
12096-581: The 1891 painting, Constitution of 3 May 1791 and in another large canvas, Rejtan , and in his series of portraits of Polish monarchs. A bust of Poniatowski was unveiled in Łazienki Palace in 1992. A number of cities in Poland have streets named after him, including Kraków and Warsaw . Poniatowski never married. In his youth, he had loved his cousin Elżbieta Czartoryska , but her father August Aleksander Czartoryski disapproved because he did not think him influential or rich enough. When this
12264-423: The 1930s, when large flying boats became popular. After World War II , the flying boats were in their turn replaced by land planes, and the new and immensely powerful jet engine revolutionized both air travel and military aviation . In the latter half of the 20th century, the development of digital electronics led to major advances in flight instrumentation and "fly-by-wire" systems. The 21st century has seen
12432-399: The 1949 British film Passport to Pimlico , pigs are parachuted to the people of Pimlico. Human flight The history of aviation spans over two millennia, from the earliest innovations like kites and daring attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight in powered, heavier-than-air jet aircraft . Kite flying in China, dating back several hundred years BC,
12600-430: The 3rd century BC. Their military use is attributed to the general Zhuge Liang (180–234 AD, honorific title Kongming ), who is said to have used them to scare the enemy troops. There is evidence that the Chinese also "solved the problem of aerial navigation" using balloons, hundreds of years before the 18th century. Eventually, after Ibn Firnas 's construction, some investigators began to discover and define some of
12768-484: The 463rd Parachute Field Artillery and a German Shepherd named Jaint de Montmorency with the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment , both of the US, dropped into France in 1944 and were killed in action. The U.S. Army experimented with parachuting Siberian Huskies with water and K-rations to bring to stranded soldiers. The dogs were taken up in a transport plane and pushed out of the side door, sometimes two dogs per parachute, on
12936-596: The Austin Dam, Jennie jumped from her shoulder with a miniature parachute and descended to the waters below. William Kalt, who wrote a book about Keyes, said: "I don't mean to laugh, but so many of those news reports are similar, and they almost always end by mentioning that the monkey was not harmed. She would have these horrific accidents, where everyone nearly died, yet she kept getting right back up in that balloon!" A trained bonnet macaque named Mrs. Murphy made at least 150 parachute jumps during her tour of Europe and
13104-808: The Constitution, despite its liberal provisions, "fell somewhere below the French , above the Canadian , and left the General State Laws for the Prussian States (in German: Allgemeines Landrecht für die Preußischen Staaten ) far behind", but was "no match for the American Constitution ". George Sanford notes that the Constitution gave Poland "a constitutional monarchy close to the British model of
13272-479: The Elder . His retinue of sculptors, headed by André-Jean Lebrun , included Giacomo Monaldi, Franz Pinck, and Tommaso Righi . Jan Filip Holzhaeusser was his court engraver and the designer of many commemorative medals. According to a 1795 inventory, Stanisław August's art collection, spread among numerous buildings, contained 2,889 pieces, including works by Rembrandt , Rubens , and van Dyck . His plan to create
13440-491: The Great Sejm, including the Constitution. Faced with his powerlessness, Poniatowski once again considered abdication; in the meantime he tried to salvage whatever reforms he could. Poniatowski's plans had been ruined by the Kościuszko Uprising . The King had not encouraged it, but once it began he supported it, seeing no other honourable option. Its defeat marked the end of the Commonwealth. Poniatowski tried to govern
13608-513: The King, who planned to build their careers on service to him. Few were privy to his plans for reforms, which were kept hidden from the conservative opposition and Russia. Poniatowski scored a political victory during the Sejm of 1776, which further strengthened the council. Chancellor Andrzej Zamoyski was tasked with the codification of the Polish law, a project that became known as the Zamoyski Code . Russia supported some, but not all, of
13776-522: The Netherlands, where he met many key members of that country's political and economic sphere. By late August, he had arrived in Paris , where he moved among the elites. In February 1754, he travelled on to Britain , where he spent some months. There, he was befriended by Charles Yorke , the future Lord Chancellor of Great Britain . He returned to the Commonwealth later that year, however he eschewed
13944-733: The Ottoman Empire by both the Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire , Poniatowski tried to draw Poland into the Austro-Russian alliance , seeing a war with the Ottomans as an opportunity to strengthen the Commonwealth. Catherine gave permission for the next Sejm to be called, as she considered some form of limited military alliance with Poland against the Ottomans might be useful. The Polish-Russian alliance
14112-425: The Ottomans and Sweden having ended, Catherine was furious over the adoption of the Constitution, which threatened Russian influence in Poland. One of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko , upon learning of the Constitution, commented that "the worst possible news have arrived from Warsaw: the Polish king has become almost sovereign." Shortly thereafter, conservative Polish nobility formed
14280-441: The Polish aristocracy. Curiously enough, it is said that it could be the same person. When elected to the throne, he was seen by many as simply an "instrument for displacing the somnolent Saxons from the throne of Poland", yet as the British historian, Norman Davies notes, " he turned out to be an ardent patriot, and a convinced reformer. " Still, according to many, his reforms did not go far enough, leading to accusations that he
14448-559: The Polish text of the 1791 Constitution gives his title as Stanisław August, by the grace of God and the will of the people, King of Poland , Grand Duke of Lithuania and Duke of Ruthenia , Prussia , Masovia , Samogitia , Kiev , Volhynia , Podolia , Podlasie , Livonia , Smolensk , Severia and Chernihiv . a Sources vary as to whether Konstancja Grabowska and Kazimierz Grabowski were Poniatowski's children. They are listed as such by several sources, including Jerzy Michalski 's article on Stanisław August Poniatowski in
14616-411: The Polish throne, but asking him to stay away from St. Petersburg. Nevertheless, Poniatowski hoped that Catherine would consider his offer of marriage, an idea seen as plausible by some international observers. He participated in the failed plot by the Familia to stage a coup d'état against King Augustus III . In August 1763, however, Catherine advised him and the Familia that she would not support
14784-622: The Prussian and Russian ambassadors and who threatened war if the reform was passed. The dissidents, supported by the Russians, formed the Radom Confederation . Abandoned by the Familia , Poniatowski's reforms failed to pass at the Repnin Sejm , named after Russian ambassador Nicholas Repnin , who promised to guarantee with all the might of the Russian Empire the Golden Liberties of the Polish nobility, enshrined in
14952-462: The Russian capital on 14 August 1758. Poniatowski attended the Sejms of 1758, 1760, and 1762. He continued his involvement with the Familia , and supported a pro-Russian and anti-Prussian stance in Polish politics. His father died in 1762, leaving him a modest inheritance. In 1762, when Catherine ascended the Russian throne, she sent him several letters professing her support for his own ascension to
15120-592: The Russians, as he had done in the past. Poniatowski had not saved the Commonwealth, however. He and the reformers had lost much of their influence, both within the country and with Catherine. Neither were the Targowica Confederates victorious. To their surprise, there ensued the Second Partition of Poland . With the new deputies bribed or intimidated by the Russian troops, the Grodno Sejm took place. On 23 November 1793, it annulled all acts of
15288-737: The Russians, the king came to believe that surrender was the only alternative to total defeat. Having received assurances from Russian ambassador Yakov Bulgakov that no territorial changes would occur, a cabinet of ministers called the Guard of Laws (or Guardians of Law, Polish : Straż Praw ) voted eight to four in favor of surrender. On 24 July 1792, Poniatowski joined the Targowica Confederation. The Polish Army disintegrated. Many reform leaders, believing their cause lost, went into self-exile, although they hoped that Poniatowski would be able to negotiate an acceptable compromise with
15456-547: The Sejm, as his parents wanted to keep him out of the political furore surrounding the Ostrogski family 's land inheritance (see: fee tail – Ordynacja Ostrogska ). The following year he received the title of Stolnik of Lithuania. Poniatowski owed his rise and influence to his family connections with the powerful Czartoryski family and their political faction, known as the Familia , with whom he had grown close. It
15624-486: The United States in 1899 and 1900. She was purchased by her handler in India when she was two years old. She would hold her hands together and "pray" prior to her ascent in the balloon and then parachute solo from heights of around 1,000 ft (300 m). Parachuting animals continued to draw crowds in the 20th century. The parachuting monkey Bimbo made a series of balloon ascensions around Montana in 1906. On August 16, at
15792-539: The United States parachuted beavers that were considered nuisances to remote locations. Many animals were sent into space as test subjects and would return to Earth in capsules with parachutes. The development of the parachute in the 18th century followed the invention of the balloon . Some of the earliest tests of parachutes involved dogs, cats, and domesticated fowl. In a 19 September 1783 demonstration in Versailles observed by Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI ,
15960-566: The Vietnam War, the 173rd Airborne Brigade had a "parachuting primate", Pfc. Bufford L. Monkey, who joined troops on parachute jumps. The Asian black bear Rocky was born in 1953 and purchased from a Kumamoto zoo to serve as a mascot for the U.S. 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team during the Korean War . She completed five parachute jumps, earning her parachutist badge . After sustaining injuries during an artillery attack, she
16128-424: The abdication: they feared that his refusal would lead to a Russian confiscation of their properties and their ruin. Catherine died on 17 November 1796, succeeded by her son, Paul I of Russia . On 15 February 1797, Poniatowski left for Saint Petersburg. He had hoped to be allowed to travel abroad, but was unable to secure permission to do so. A virtual prisoner in St. Petersburg's Marble Palace , he subsisted on
16296-569: The adoption of the Constitution that he had coauthored. A third funeral ceremony was held on 14 February 1995. Stanisław August Poniatowski has been called the Polish Enlightenment 's most important patron of the arts. His cultural projects were attuned to his socio-political aims of overthrowing the myth of the Golden Freedoms and the traditional ideology of Sarmatism . His weekly " Thursday Dinners " were considered
16464-402: The aid of an 8½ horsepower electric motor. However, these aircraft were generally short-lived and extremely frail. Routine, controlled flights did not occur until the advent of the internal combustion engine (see below.) The first aircraft to make routine controlled flights were non-rigid airships (sometimes called "blimps".) The most successful early pioneering pilot of this type of aircraft
16632-514: The animals. Parachuting animals have been depicted in fiction numerous times. The 1945 Japanese film Momotaro: Sacred Sailors included a monkey, dog, and bear cub who become paratroopers. The 1995 film Operation Dumbo Drop concerns the delivery of an elephant by parachute during the Vietnam War. In the late 1990s, the artist Banksy produced a series of Parachuting Rat stencil art in Melbourne, depicting rats descending in parachutes. In
16800-417: The arts and sciences was a major drain on the royal treasury. He also supported numerous public initiatives, and attempted to use the royal treasury to cover the state's expenses when tax revenues were insufficient. The Sejm promised several times to compensate his treasury to little practical effect. Nonetheless contemporary critics frequently accused him of being a spendthrift. Andrzej Zahorski dedicated
16968-642: The arts and sciences, Poniatowski was awarded in 1766 a royal Fellowship of the Royal Society , where he became the first royal Fellow outside British royalty. In 1778 he was awarded fellowship of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences , and in 1791 of the Berlin Academy of Sciences . He also supported the development of industry and manufacturing, areas in which the Commonwealth lagged behind most of Western Europe. Among
17136-415: The balloon craze known as balloonomania in the late 18th and 19th centuries, balloonists, known then as aeronauts, began experimenting with parachuting animals. The aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard parachuted dozens of animals from balloons during his career. On 3 June 1785, he made a successful test of a parachute using a dog. Blanchard later dropped a cat and more dogs from parachutes. His attempt to drop
17304-410: The basics of rational aircraft design. Most notable of these was Leonardo da Vinci , although his work remained unknown until 1797, and so had no influence on developments over the next three hundred years. While his designs are rational, they are not scientific. He particularly underestimated the amount of power that would be needed to propel a flying object, basing his designs on the flapping wings of
17472-532: The basket while the balloon was mid-air, dropping the animals on the ground near Bush Hill. Blanchard repeated the demonstration on 17 and 21 June. A writer for the City Gazette in South Carolina claimed that Blanchard had thrown over 60 animals "from the height of the clouds" that had parachuted to safety. Blanchard's wife Sophie also parachuted dogs from her balloon. In 1789, Blanchard demonstrated
17640-464: The combined influence of Catherine, of Russian empress Elizabeth and of chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin , Poniatowski was able to rejoin the Russian court now as ambassador of Saxony the following January. Still in St Petersburg, he appears to have been a source of intrigue between various European governments, some supporting his appointment, others demanding his withdrawal. He eventually left
17808-553: The continuing weakness of the Polish-Lithuanian state, Austria, Russia, and Prussia collaborated to threaten military intervention in exchange for substantial territorial concessions from the Commonwealth – a decision they made without consulting Poniatowski or any other Polish parties. Although Poniatowski protested against the First Partition of the Commonwealth (1772), he was powerless to do anything about it. He considered abdication , but decided against it. During
17976-417: The council to be easier to control than the unruly Sejms, and indeed it remained under the influence of the Russian Empire. Nevertheless, it was a significant improvement on the earlier Commonwealth governance. The new legislation was guaranteed by the Russian Empire, giving it licence to interfere in Commonwealth politics when legislation it favoured was threatened. The aftermath of the Partition Sejm saw
18144-792: The country in the brief period after the fall of the Uprising, but on 2 December 1794, Catherine demanded he leave Warsaw, a request to which he acceded on 7 January 1795, leaving the capital under Russian military escort and settling briefly in Grodno . On 24 October 1795, the Act of the final, Third Partition of Poland was signed. One month and one day later, on 25 November, Poniatowski signed his abdication. Reportedly, his sister, Ludwika Maria Zamoyska and her daughter also his favourite niece, Urszula Zamoyska , who had been threatened with confiscation of their property, had contributed to persuading him to sign
18312-412: The country's second order of chivalry , to reward Poles and others for noteworthy service to the King. Together with the Familia he tried to reform the ineffective system of government, by reducing the powers of the hetmans (Commonwealth's top military commanders) and treasurers, moving them to commissions elected by the Sejm and accountable to the King. In his memoirs, Poniatowski called this period
18480-491: The development of airships. At the same time that non-rigid airships were starting to have some success, the first successful rigid airships were also being developed. These were far more capable than fixed-wing aircraft in terms of pure cargo-carrying capacity for decades. Rigid airship design and advancement was pioneered by the German count Ferdinand von Zeppelin . Construction of the first Zeppelin airship began in 1899 in
18648-819: The early 1920s, a dog named Jeff made multiple successful jumps with the Colorado Air National Guard . In his final jump in August 1924, Jeff's chute did not open. Later in 1935, an article in Popular Science featured a successful Soviet experimental parachute for a locked coop for dogs that sprang open when it hit the ground. During World War II, the British 13th Parachute Battalion recruited dogs. The dogs served as mascots but were also trained to detect mines and serve as guard dogs. The Collie -German Shepherd mix breed dog Bing parachuted into Normandy on D-Day , though he had to be thrown out of
18816-504: The effects of radiation. Following the parachute descent of the capsules, it was discovered that the monkeys and hamsters had died due to a life support system failure. During the development of spaceflight , many animals were sent into space as test subjects and would return to Earth in capsules with parachutes. In 1948, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game devised a program to relocate beavers from Northwestern Idaho to
18984-882: The endeavours in which he invested were the manufacture of cannons and firearms and the mining industry. Poniatowski himself left several literary works: his memoirs, some political brochures and recorded speeches from the Sejm. He was considered a great orator and a skilled conversationalist. King Stanisław Augustus remains a controversial figure. In Polish historiography and in popular works, he has been criticized or marginalized by authors such as, Szymon Askenazy , Joachim Lelewel , Jerzy Łojek (whom Andrzej Zahorski describes as Poniatowski's most vocal critic among modern historians), Tadeusz Korzon , Karol Zyszewski and Krystyna Zienkowska; whereas more neutral or positive views have been expressed by Paweł Jasienica , Walerian Kalinka , Władysław Konopczyński , Stanisław Mackiewicz , Emanuel Rostworowski and Stanisław Wasylewski. In
19152-415: The error of joining the Targowica Confederation. Although he wanted to preserve the integrity of the Polish state, it was far too late for that – he succeeded instead in cementing the damage to his own reputation for succeeding centuries. Poniatowski has been the subject of numerous biographies and many works of art. Voltaire , who saw Poniatowski as a model reformist, based his character, King Teucer in
19320-676: The event claim as many as 14,000 cats were used. An additional source references a "recruitment" drive for 30 cats a few days before Operation Cat Drop. In 2016, the South African defense contractor Paramount Group established the Anti-Poaching and Canine Training Academy. Belgian Malinois and German Shepherds trained at the facility are parachuted from helicopters to assist in tracking elephant poachers . The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has dropped fish from aircraft to re-stock high altitude lakes since at least 1956. This
19488-463: The father of Konstancja Żwanowa (1768–1810) and Michał Cichocki (1770–1828). With Elżbieta Szydłowska (1748–1810), he became the father of Stanisław Konopnicy-Grabowski (1780–1845), Michał Grabowski (1773–1812), Kazimierz Grabowski (1770–?), Konstancja Grabowska and Izabela Grabowska (1776–1858). In a work by De Daugnon, an anecdote is quoted that happened to his mother, Constance, in 1732. An Italian named Antonio Formica appears before her, who
19656-700: The first few years of his childhood in Gdańsk . He was temporarily kidnapped as a toddler, on the orders of Józef Potocki , Governor of Kiev , as a reprisal for his father's support for King Augustus III and held for some months in Kamieniec-Podolski . He was returned to his parents in Gdańsk. Later he moved with his family to Warsaw . He was initially educated by his mother, then by private tutors, including Russian ambassador Herman Karl von Keyserling . He had few friends in his teenage years and instead developed
19824-415: The first scientific statement of the problem, "The whole problem is confined within these limits, viz. to make a surface support a given weight by the application of power to the resistance of air". He identified the four vector forces that influence an aircraft: thrust , lift , drag and weight and distinguished stability and control in his designs. He also identified and described the importance of
19992-676: The first trials are made you may have to pay for the experience, and not mind an arm or leg". Swedenborg proved prescient in his observation that a method of powering of an aircraft was one of the critical problems to be overcome. On 16 May 1793, the Spanish inventor Diego Marín Aguilera managed to cross the river Arandilla in Coruña del Conde , Castile , flying 300 – 400 m, with a flying machine. Balloon jumping replaced tower jumping, also demonstrating with typically fatal results that man-power and flapping wings were useless in achieving flight. At
20160-523: The ground. Blanchard also dropped a dog attached to a large chute, twice, over Lille . The second time was witnessed by Prince de Robecq and the "dog received no hurt" according to an article in Gentleman's Magazine . In 1788, Blanchard made a demonstration for Frederick the Great , placing a bird and a cat in a basket that was attached to the parachute. The animals lived. The Cat, who was very unquiet in
20328-467: The impracticality of this and later turned to controlled gliding flight, also sketching some designs powered by a spring. In an essay titled Sul volo ( On flight ), Leonardo describes a flying machine called "the bird" which he built from starched linen, leather joints, and raw silk thongs. In the Codex Atlanticus , he wrote, "Tomorrow morning, on the second day of January 1496, I will make
20496-457: The island of Borneo in 1960. The cats were flown out of Singapore and delivered in crates dropped by parachutes as part of a broader program of supplying cats to combat an infestation of rats. The operation, known as Operation Cat Drop , was reported as a success at the time. Newspaper reports published soon after the Operation reference only 23 cats being used. However, some later accounts of
20664-466: The largely wood and paper constructions of the Japanese cities that were the weapon's intended target. Attempts were made by the U.S. Army in 1942 to parachute mules. In one attempt, a dozen mules were taken up in an airplane. Six of them could not be pushed out of the airplane, while another six were dropped in slings attached to parachutes. Unfortunately, the jerk from the opening of the chutes severed
20832-412: The last years of the 15th century until 1505, Leonardo wrote about and sketched many designs for flying machines and mechanisms, including ornithopters, fixed-wing gliders, rotorcraft (perhaps inspired by whirligig toys), parachutes (in the form of a wooden-framed pyramidal tent) and a wind speed gauge. His early designs were man-powered and included ornithopters and rotorcraft; however, he came to realise
21000-499: The marooned flocks were inaccessible by land, so the Civil Air Patrol arranged for a "doglift" where sheepdogs were parachuted in. Parachutes were provided by the state Aeronautics Commission and a special harness for the paradogs was designed by E. L. Davis. The United Kingdom 's Royal Air Force delivered cats, equipment and supplies to remote regions of the then-British colony of Sarawak (today part of Malaysia ), on
21168-546: The mid to late 19th century and sometimes included animals. In 1886, the aeronaut Emil Leandro Melville in San Francisco repeatedly parachuted a small arboreal monkey from his balloon. Meanwhile, Maud DeHaven and Richard P. Hill had parachuting dogs. The exploits of parachuting balloonist Thomas Scott Baldwin were replicated in 1889 by a rhesus macaque known as "the Monkey Baldwin" at English music halls. Twice
21336-520: The most scintillating social functions in the Polish capital. He founded Warsaw's National Theatre , Poland's first public theatre, and sponsored an associated Ballet schoolsballet school. He remodeled Ujazdów Palace and the Royal Castle in Warsaw, and erected the elegant Łazienki (Royal Baths) Palace in Warsaw's Łazienki, Park . He involved himself deeply in the detail of his architectural projects, and his eclectic style has been dubbed
21504-665: The mules' mesenteric arteries , killing them. During the Burma Campaign , mules were flown in to the Chindits , long-range penetration forces on the ground. Lt. Col. K. I. Barlow suggested parachuting the animals and arranged trial drops at the Air Transport Development Centre in Chaklala , Punjab. An elderly, sedated mule was placed at the centre of nylon bladder pontoons that were fastened to
21672-409: The parachute system both failed, and Albert likely died due to breathing problems but would have died on impact anyway since the capsule's parachute failed to open. Another rhesus macaque, Albert II became the first mammal in space on 14 June 1949, but plummeted to his death after a parachute failure. At Edwards Air Force Base in 1962, bears were used for a series of escape capsule ejection tests of
21840-512: The partitioning powers. Royal prerogative was restricted, so that the King lost the power to confer titular roles, and military promotions, to appoint ministers and senators. Starostwo territories, and Crown lands would be awarded by auction. The Sejm also created two notable institutions: the Permanent Council , a government body in continuous operation, and the Commission of National Education . The partitioning powers intended
22008-512: The plane. He landed in a tree but survived and later parachuted into western Germany in March 1945 as part of Operation Varsity . Bing was awarded a Dickin Medal . Two other German Shepherds with the battalion, Ranee and Monty, also served as paradogs. Smoky , a famous Yorkshire terrier in World War II, was parachuted from trees at heights of 30 ft (9.1 m). She was parachuted as
22176-463: The play Les Lois de Minos (1772) on Poniatowski. At least 58 contemporary poems were dedicated to him or praised him. Since then, he has been a major character in many works of Józef Ignacy Kraszewski , in the Rok 1794 trilogy by Władysław Stanisław Reymont , in the novels of Tadeusz Łopalewski , and in the dramas of Ignacy Grabowski, Tadeusz Miciński , Roman Brandstaetter and Bogdan Śmigielski. He
22344-696: The predominant method. Other equipment such as goggles for dogs ( doggles ) have been designed. The U.S. Special Operations Command 's innovation cell hosted a competition to design oxygen masks for dogs in 2017. Humans have also taken dogs and other animals skydiving . Mike Forsythe and his dog Cara set a record for the highest tandem dog-human parachute deployment in 2011, making their descent from 30,100 ft (9,200 m). Alongside advancements in human flight and parachute technology, animals have served as test subjects. Initial tests of parachutes were often conducted with animals. Later, animals were parachuted from airplanes and rockets. During World War II, Major,
22512-543: The rise of a conservative faction opposed to the Permanent Council, seeing it as a threat to their Golden Freedoms. This faction was supported by the Czartoryski family, but not by Poniatowski, who proved to be quite adept at making the Council follow his wishes. This marked the formation of new anti-royal and pro-royal factions in Polish politics. The royal faction was made up primarily of people indebted to
22680-461: The same time scientific study of heavier-than-air flight began in earnest. In 1801, the French officer André Guillaume Resnier de Goué managed a 300-metre glide by starting from the top of the city walls of Angoulême and broke only one leg on arrival. In 1837 French mathematician and brigadier general Isidore Didion stated, "Aviation will be successful only if one finds an engine whose ratio with
22848-399: The sejms , which would have made them immune to the liberum veto . Thus, although he had a majority in the Sejms, Poniatowski was unable to pass even the smallest reform. The Zamoyski Code was rejected by the Sejm of 1780, and opposition attacks on the King dominated the Sejms of 1782 and 1786. Reforms became possible again in the late 1780s. In the context of the wars being waged against
23016-524: The state of slavery, appeared to have forgot its voracious nature, having spared the companion of its voyage; and the Bird appeared to have grown bold by the circumstance, and kept perched on the back of its enemy. On 5 June 1793, Blanchard parachuted a dog, a cat, and a squirrel in Philadelphia . The animals were placed in a basket that was tethered to his balloon. A slow-burning fuse was set that released
23184-493: The thong and the attempt." According to one commonly repeated, albeit presumably fictional story, in 1505 Leonardo or one of his pupils attempted to fly from the summit of Monte Ceceri . Francesco Lana de Terzi proposed in Prodromo dell'Arte Maestra (1670) that large vessels could float in the atmosphere by applying the principles of the vacuum. Lana designed an airship with four huge copper foil spheres connected to support
23352-598: The throne he attempted to introduce a number of reforms. He founded the Knights School , and began to form a diplomatic service, with semi-permanent diplomatic representatives throughout Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empire . On 7 May 1765, Poniatowski established the Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus , in honour of Saint Stanislaus of Krakow , Bishop and Martyr, Poland's and his own patron saint, as
23520-456: The throne, Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski , characterized by one of his contemporaries as " débauché, si non dévoyé " (French: "debauched if not depraved"), but Czartoryski had declined to seek office. "Stanisław August", as he now styled himself combining the names of his two immediate royal predecessors, began his rule with only mixed support within the nation. It was mainly the small nobility who favoured his election. In his first years on
23688-418: The time." According to a contemporary account, Poniatowski himself described it, as "founded principally on those of England and the United States of America, but avoiding the faults and errors of both, and adapted as much as possible to the local and particular circumstances of the country." The Constitution of 3 May remained to the end a work in progress. A new civil and criminal code (provisionally called
23856-509: The weight of the device to be supported will be larger than current steam machines or the strength developed by humans or most of the animals". Sir George Cayley was first called the "father of the aeroplane" in 1846. During the last years of the previous century he had begun the first rigorous study of the physics of flight and later designed the first modern heavier-than-air craft. Among his many achievements, his most important contributions to aeronautics include: Cayley's first innovation
24024-634: The widespread use of pilotless drones for military, civilian, and recreational purposes. With digital controls, inherently unstable aircraft designs, such as flying wings, have also become feasible. The term aviation, noun of action from stem of Latin avis "bird" with suffix -ation meaning action or progress, was coined in 1863 by French pioneer Guillaume Joseph Gabriel de La Landelle (1812–1886) in "Aviation ou Navigation aérienne sans ballons". Since ancient times, there have been stories of men strapping birdlike wings, stiffened cloaks, or other devices to themselves and attempting to fly, typically by jumping off
24192-429: The wind, lift men, signal, and communicate and send messages. Kites spread from China around the world. After its introduction into India, the kite further evolved into the fighter kite , which has an abrasive line used to cut down other kites. Man-carrying kites are believed to have been used extensively in ancient China for civil and military purposes and sometimes enforced as a punishment. An early recorded flight
24360-506: Was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Born into wealthy Polish aristocracy , Poniatowski arrived as a diplomat at the Russian imperial court in Saint Petersburg in 1755 at the age of 22 and became intimately involved with the future empress Catherine the Great . With her aid, he was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania by
24528-515: Was Prince Józef Poniatowski (1763–1813), son of Andrzej. He was a great-grandson of poet and courtier Jan Andrzej Morsztyn and of Lady Catherine Gordon, lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga ; thus descended from the Marquesses of Huntly and the Scottish nobility. The Poniatowski family had achieved high status among the Polish nobility ( szlachta ) of the time. He spent
24696-510: Was a popular sport in Britain. These privately owned balloons usually used coal gas as the lifting gas. This has half the lifting power of hydrogen so the balloons had to be larger, however, coal gas was far more readily available and the local gas works sometimes provided a special lightweight formula for ballooning events. Airships were originally called "dirigible balloons" and are still sometimes called dirigibles today. Work on developing
24864-481: Was accused by others of weakness and subservience, even of treason, especially in the years following the Second Partition . During the Kościuszko Uprising , there were rumours that Polish Jacobins had been planning a coup d'état and Poniatowski's assassination. Another line of criticism alleged poor financial management on his part. Poniatowski actually had little personal wealth. Most of his income came from Crown Estates and monopolies. His lavish patronage of
25032-442: Was assumed to be an astrologer. Seeing the child born on 17 January of that year, he predicted that he would be king of the Poles. The prediction came true many years later, and fortunately there are records of the existence of a Sicilian doctor Dr. Antonio Formica, who lived in Poland during those years, closely linked to the Polish aristocracy. Curiously enough, it is said that it could be the same person. The English translation of
25200-482: Was awarded a Purple Heart . During the Vietnam War , supply drops made to isolated outposts could include livestock such as chickens, ducks, pigs, and cows. Except for the cows, the animals were placed in bamboo wicker baskets and dropped by parachute from heights of 250–300 ft (76–91 m). Specialized harnesses and other equipment for parachuting animals have developed over time. Tandem jumps have become
25368-464: Was being overly cautious, even indecisive, a fault to which he himself admitted. His decision to rely on Russia has been often criticized. Poniatowski saw Russia as a "lesser evil" – willing to support the notional "independence" of a weak Poland within the Russian sphere of influence. However, in the event Russia imposed the Partitions of Poland rather than choose to support internal reform. He
25536-612: Was elected king. A plan he initiated to map the entire territory of the Commonwealth, however, was never finished. At the Royal Castle in Warsaw , he organized an astronomical observatory and supported astronomers Jan Śniadecki and Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt . He also sponsored historical studies, including the collection, cataloging and copying of historical manuscripts. He encouraged publications of biographies of famous Polish historical figures, and sponsored paintings and sculptures of them. For his contributions to
25704-513: Was established in 1910. Although airships were used in both World War I and II, and continue on a limited basis to this day, their development has been largely overshadowed by heavier-than-air craft. Traveller Evliya Çelebi reported that in 1633, Ottoman scientist and engineer Lagari Hasan Çelebi blasted off from Sarayburnu , (the promontory below the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul ) in
25872-523: Was forced to land on the lake after the winding mechanism for the balancing weight had broken. Upon repair, the technology proved its potential in subsequent flights, bettering the 6 m/s speed attained by the French airship La France by 3 m/s, but could not yet convince possible investors. It was several years before the Count was able to raise enough funds for another try. German airship passenger service known as DELAG (Deutsche-Luftschiffahrts AG)
26040-563: Was halted under threat of prosecution by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals . Animals have long been used in the military as working animals , mascots , and test subjects. As airplane and parachute technology advanced in the 20th century, there was an increasing incidence of parachuting animals, particularly dogs. Parachuting dogs, sometimes referred to as "paradogs", have been frequently employed by militaries . In
26208-410: Was never achieved. Poniatowski and the reformers could field only a 37,000-man army, many of them untested recruits. This army, under the command of the King's nephew Józef Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kościuszko , managed to defeat the Russians or fight them to a draw on several occasions. Following the victorious Battle of Zieleńce , in which Polish forces were commanded by his nephew, the King founded
26376-618: Was no longer an issue, she was already married. His pacta conventa specified that he should marry a Polish noblewoman, although he himself always hoped to marry into some royal family . Upon his accession to the throne, he had hopes of marrying Catherine II , writing to her on 2 November 1763 in a moment of doubt, "If I desired the throne, it was because I saw you on it." When she made it clear through his envoy Rzewuski that she would not marry him, there were hopes of an Austrian archduchess, Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1743–1808) . A marriage to Princess Sophia Albertina of Sweden
26544-527: Was not implemented, as in the end the only acceptable compromise proved unattractive to both sides. However, in the ensuing Four-Year Sejm of 1788–92 (known as the Great Sejm ), Poniatowski threw his lot in with the reformers associated with the Patriotic Party of Stanisław Małachowski , Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kołłątaj , and co-authored the Constitution of 3 May 1791 . The Constitution introduced sweeping reforms. According to Jacek Jędruch ,
26712-481: Was not supported by Poniatowski, who nevertheless acceded to the decision of the majority of Sejm deputies. The passing of the Constitution of 3 May, although officially applauded by Frederick William II of Prussia , who sent a congratulatory note to Warsaw, caused further worry in Prussia. The contacts of Polish reformers with the revolutionary French National Assembly were seen by Poland's neighbours as evidence of
26880-461: Was one of the most famous parachuting monkeys. Keyes toured the U.S. west coast in the 1890s with Jennie Yan-Yan, who had her own miniature parachute. While Keyes suffered injuries during several of her exhibitions, Jennie Yan-Yan was seemingly never harmed. During an exhibition in Austin, Texas , Keyes and Jennie were suspended 1,000 feet over Lake Austin . While Keyes failed to reach the powerhouse of
27048-679: Was rewarded by the Sultan with silver and the rank of sipahi in the Ottoman army . Evliya Çelebi also wrote of Lagari's brother, Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi , making a flight by glider a year earlier. Italian inventor Tito Livio Burattini , invited by the Polish King Władysław IV to his court in Warsaw , built a model aircraft with four fixed glider wings in 1647. Described as "four pairs of wings attached to an elaborate 'dragon'", it
27216-452: Was said to have successfully lifted a cat in 1648 but not Burattini himself. He promised that "only the most minor injuries" would result from landing the craft. His "Dragon Volant" is considered "the most elaborate and sophisticated aeroplane to be built before the 19th Century". The first published paper on aviation was "Sketch of a Machine for Flying in the Air" by Emanuel Swedenborg published in 1716. This flying machine consisted of
27384-427: Was suggested despite the religious differences, but this match was opposed by his sisters, Ludwika Maria Poniatowska and Izabella Poniatowska , and nothing came of it. The ceremonial role of queen and hostess of his court was played by his favourite niece, Urszula Zamoyska . A few historians believe that he later contracted a secret marriage with Elżbieta Szydłowska . However, according to Wirydianna Fiszerowa ,
27552-452: Was that of the prisoner Yuan Huangtou , a Chinese prince, in the 6th century AD. Stories of man-carrying kites also occur in Japan, following the introduction of the kite from China around the seventh century AD. At one time, there was a Japanese law against man-carrying kites. The use of a rotor for vertical flight has existed since 400 BC in the form of the bamboo-copter , an ancient Chinese toy. The similar "moulinet à noix" (rotor on
27720-567: Was the Familia who sent him in 1755 to Saint Petersburg in the service of Williams, who had been nominated British ambassador to Russia. In Saint Petersburg, Williams introduced Poniatowski to the 26-year-old Catherine Alexeievna , the future empress Catherine the Great. The two became lovers. Whatever his feelings for Catherine, it is likely Poniatowski also saw an opportunity to use the relationship for his own benefit, using her influence to bolster his career. Poniatowski had to leave St. Petersburg in July 1756 due to court intrigue. Through
27888-497: Was the Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont who effectively combined a balloon with an internal combustion engine. On 19 October 1901, he flew his airship Number 6 over Paris from the Parc de Saint Cloud around the Eiffel Tower and back in under 30 minutes to win the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize . Santos-Dumont went on to design and build several aircraft. The subsequent controversy surrounding his and others' competing claims with regard to aircraft overshadowed his great contribution to
28056-473: Was the first modern heavier-than-air flying machine, having the layout of a conventional modern aircraft with an inclined wing towards the front and adjustable tail at the back with both tailplane and fin. A movable weight allowed adjustment of the model's centre of gravity . In 1809, goaded by the farcical antics of his contemporaries (see above), he began the publication of a landmark three-part treatise titled "On Aerial Navigation" (1809–1810). In it he wrote
28224-415: Was to study the basic science of lift by adopting the whirling arm test rig for use in aircraft research and using simple aerodynamic models on the arm, rather than attempting to fly a model of a complete design. In 1799, he set down the concept of the modern aeroplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control. In 1804, Cayley constructed a model glider which
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