Albert William Stevens (March 13, 1886 – March 26, 1949) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

of the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

balloonist In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat that ...

, and aerial photographer.

Biography

He was born on March 13, 1886 in

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay and Penobscot Bay. Belfast is the county seat of W ...

. He graduated from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

in 1909 with a master's degree in electrical engineering. While flying over South America in 1930, Stevens took the first photograph of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

in a way that the horizon's curvature is visible. To photograph through haze, Stevens often employed infrared-sensitive film for long-distance aerial photography. Accompanied by Lieutenant Charles D. McAllister of the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

, Stevens took the first photograph of the Moon's shadow projected onto the Earth during a solar eclipse in August, 1932. On July 29, 1934, Stevens and two other Army Air Corps officers, Major William Kepner and Captain

Orvil Arson Anderson Orvil Orson "Andy" Anderson (May 2, 1895 - August 24, 1965) was born in Springville, Utah. Anderson was an Army and Air Force officer, and a pioneer Army balloonist. In 1935 he and Albert William Stevens won the Mackay Trophy when they set a recor ...

, ascended in a specially-constructed balloon and gondola named ''Explorer I'' over north-western Nebraska in an attempt to exceed the current altitude record for manned flight. However, nearing the current record height, the balloon envelope ruptured, sending the gondola plunging to earth. Fortunately, all three crew were able to eventually exit and parachute to earth before the gondola crashed into a farm field. On November 11, 1935, Stevens, along with Captain Anderson, made a record balloon ascent from the "

Stratobowl The Stratobowl is a compact natural depression within the limits of Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota, south-west of Rapid City. In 1934–1935 it housed a stratospheric balloon launch site, initially known as Stratocamp, sponsored by ...

" (a natural depression) near

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

. There were 20,000 spectators, while millions of people listened to a live

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

radio broadcast. Their sealed gondola ''

Explorer II ''Explorer II'' was a manned U.S. high-altitude balloon that was launched on November 11, 1935, and reached a record altitude of . Launched at 8:00 am from the Stratobowl in South Dakota, the helium balloon carried a two-man crew consisting of ...

'' floated to , nearly , a world altitude record unequaled until 1946 and a balloon record unequaled until 1956.Goliath, ''The first space race? The Explorer II balloon flight of 1935.'' Sep 22, 2006.
/ref> Stevens was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross – one award for each of his two famous balloon flights. He died on March 26, 1949, in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

References

External links

The Explorer I crew - Major William Kepner, Captain Albert Stevens, and Captain Orvil Anderson, on July 28, 1934
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Albert William 1886 births 1949 deaths American balloonists People from Belfast, Maine Photographers from California United States Army officers

Biography

See also

References

External links