Born August 20, 1832
Jefferson Mills, New Hampshire
Died January 16, 1913
Pasadena, California

Balloonist for Union Army

Conducted military reconnaissance for
Union forces during Civil War

"[I] would lie in a field or sit astride a picket fence, gazing for hours at the great white clouds hanging like banners or floating slowly across the skies."

Thaddeus Lowe in one of his balloons. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

Thaddeus Lowe developed and supervised a fleet of manned balloons that provided valuable information to Union forces on enemy troop positions and movements. Lowe's balloons thus became the first aviation aircraft used in American military history. The U.S. government never really appreciated the value of Lowe's Balloon Corps, however. By mid-1863, administrative errors and general lack of support brought Lowe's balloon operations to an end.

Difficult Childhood Fosters Independent Spirit

Thaddeus Soieski Constantine Lowe was born in Coos County, New...