Samuel Archer King
American balloonist
Samuel Archer King (9 April 1828 in Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania – 3 November 1914 in Philadelphia) was a ballooning pioneer in the United States.
Early interest
When a boy, he was fond of climbing to the greatest heights possible, to satisfy his passion for viewing extended landscapes. Soon after attaining his majority, he constructed a balloon. His first ascension was made on 25 September 1851 from Philadelphia. In consequence of a scant supply of gas, it proved only a partial success, and he received rough treatment in the tree tops and in being dragged up the Schuylkill River and over the dam. A second attempt produced a successful voyage across Philadelphia, far into New Jersey.
Ascension experiences
He then made numerous expeditions from various places in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 1855 he made several ascents from Wilmington, Delaware, and on 16 June 1856, ascended from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, but in descending was dashed to the earth and rendered insensible. During 1856-57 he made ascents from Providence, Rhode Island, and other places in New England, and, on 15 August, he went up from New Haven, Connecticut, in his balloon “Queen of the Air,” which subsequently became famous from his ascents made from Boston.
At an ascent on 1 September 1858, he experimented with the use of a drag rope as a guide.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 28, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7410778. VIAF identifies the subject as 3546151353526152720000. The Library of Congress control number is no2017162797. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1828, 1914, 1851 and 1855.
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