PARACHUTE JUMP (FIRST)

PARACHUTE JUMP (FIRST). Fourteen years before the Wright Brothers made aviation history, a daring man made a 1,000 foot parachute jump in Dubuque.

The event occurred on July 18, 1889 at 4:30 p.m. Crowds gathered at the baseball field at 24th and Washington with an estimated 200 paying a fee for grandstand seats and another 5,000 sitting on nearby bluffs for a good view.

A fire was built, and the long process of filling a huge balloon with hot air began. As the balloon filled, a trapeze style seat was seen underneath and a large pack quickly identified as the parachute was observed on the side of the balloon.

The crowd gradually tired for the activity and began leaving for home. Those who remained saw a figure climb onto the seat at 5:45 p.m. and begin casting off the lines. It was anticipated that Professor F. L. Thompson, a well-known local "aeronaut" would be executing the jump. Instead of Thompson, who had been listed in the newspapers, the jumper was Professor W. Strief, another aeronaut. It was later explained that Thompson felt the crowd was too small.

Thompson's jump had been described as taking place from a height of 2,000 to 5,000 feet. Strief chose to jump at 1,000 feet and opened his chute at 500 feet. He did not land where expected. Winds carried him into an alley near Prince Street--four blocks away from the ballpark. He was not injured.

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Source:

Ryder, Bill. "Dubuque's 1st Parachute Jump--The Crowd Gasped," Telegraph Herald, March 27, 1960, p. 8