Existing comment:
Balloonist Thaddeus Lowe (1852-1913), about 1862:
Tintype by unknown photographer, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
A scientist and inventor, Lowe is considered by some to be the father of military aerial reconnaissance. His knowledge of meteorology and ballooning led President Lincoln to appoint him as first Chief Aeronaut of the Union Balloon Corps during the Civil War. |