EARLY CATHOLIC AVIATORS, part II: BARTOLOMEU DE GUSMAO



Bartolomeu de Gusmão (1685-1724) was a Brazilian-born Portuguese priest who invented the first working aerostat.





In 1709, he gave a demonstration of a small hot-air balloon before the Royal Court in Lisbon. His designs for a larger, manned airship (which he named Passarola) were never realized. His original notebooks survive; select pages appear below.









The LION & the CARDINAL