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Ivy Baldwin
Ivy Baldwin in 1894.
Baldwin in 1894
Born
William Ivy

(1866-07-31)July 31, 1866
Houston, Texas
DiedOctober 8, 1953(1953-10-08) (aged 87)
Eldorado Canyon State Park, Boulder County, Colorado
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPilot
Known forCircumnavigation

Ivy Baldwin was born William Ivy on July 31, 1866 in Houston, Texas He changed his name in later years to Ivy Baldwin so that he could be billed as one of "The Baldwin Brothers".[1] Baldwin was an American balloonist, aeronaut and high-wire performer. He is credited with being the first aviator to be shot down during wartime in the U.S.[2] during the Spanish–American War.[3]

Biography

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In 1877, he performed in Thayer Dollar Circus as a tightrope walker. He later joined with Thomas and Sam Baldwin—billed as "The Baldwin Brothers"—performing high wire acts as well as balloon ascensions and parachuting. The Baldwin Brothers performed using handmade balloons filled with hot air which would ascend to 2500 feet as Ivy Baldwin performed acrobatics and would parachute to the ground.[4] He became a solo performer in 1893.

Baldwin joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps the following year as a sergeant, piloting and maintaining their demonstration balloon. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Baldwin was the pilot of the hot air balloon that gave U.S. troops location information of Spanish snipers before the Battle of San Juan Hill. The balloon was shot down on June 30, 1898, and landed in the Aguadores River. Baldwin was later honorably discharged. Returning to performance, he dubbed himself "the air hero of the late War" and sold fragments of the destroyed balloon.[2]: 194 

From 1890 to 1907, Baldwin spent many summers at Denver's Elitch Gardens amusement park, where he made balloon ascents on Saturdays and Sundays, sometimes performing stunts on a trapeze as he ascended. In 1902, for the first time, Ivy Baldwin parachuted to the earth from the balloon.[5] Mary Elitch Long, the owner of the gardens, was quoted as saying: "Mr. Long and I were the first passengers to soar into the Colorado sky. I must confess there were some apprehensive gasps as the starting whistle blew, but our fears soon gave place to a feeling of power and security as we ascended... From the great height of fifteen hundred feet, all Denver and its environs of mountains and plains lay spread before our entranced vision."[6]

Ivy Baldwin lived many years in Eldorado Canyon, in Boulder County, Colorado. He celebrated his eighty-second birthday by tightrope walking 125 feet above South Boulder Creek, a crossing he'd made 80 times in 40 years.[7][8] Baldwin died at home in his sleep on Oct. 8, 1953, at the age of 87.[9]

Halls of fame

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He was the first inductee to the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in 1969, along with 9 other early Colorado aviators.[1] They stated that since his early years he had “a sincere urge to get into the air, one way or the other.” The ceremony noted that he was also "the first person to fly a powered 'air craft' in the State of Colorado" since he had made a brief flight "in a self-designed and self-built powered dirigible-type balloon".[4]

He was selected to be in the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame for being "the first person to successfully fly an airplane in the State of Nevada." which he accomplished on June 23, 1910. [10]

See also

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Original ten 1969 Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame Laureates

References

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  1. ^ a b "CAHS: Ivy Baldwin History". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
  2. ^ a b Herst, Herman (2016). "Ivy Baldwin An Unknown Hero". Put A Stamp On It!. CreateSpace. pp. 190–185. ISBN 9781940197388.
  3. ^ "Ivy Baldwin". Colorado Aviation Historical Society. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b Gaunt, Ken (April 2003). "Daredevil Ivy Baldwin". Airport Journals. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  5. ^ Borrillo, Theodore A. (2012). Denver's historic Elitch Theatre : a nostalgic journey (a history of its times). [publisher not identified]. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-9744331-4-1. OCLC 823177622.
  6. ^ Dier, Caroline L. (1932). The Lady of the Gardens : Mary Elitch Long. Hollycrofters, Inc., Ltd. p. 75. OCLC 307807.
  7. ^ Berman, Eliza. "Meet the 82-Year-Old Tightrope Artist Who Walked the Wire Long Before Philippe Petit". Time. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  8. ^ 82 year old Ivy Baldwin crosses Eldorado Canyon on a high wire in 1948 No harness No net. Retrieved 2024-04-20 – via www.youtube.com.
  9. ^ "Daredevil Ivy Baldwin". Airport Journals. 2003-04-01. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  10. ^ "William A. Ivy (Ivy Baldwin)". Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  11. ^ "CAHS: Ira Humphreys History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  12. ^ "CAHS: Albert Humphreys History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  13. ^ "CAHS: Will Parker History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  14. ^ "CAHS: Chriss Peterson History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  15. ^ "CAHS: Reginald Sinclair History". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
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Further reading
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