William Sadler, 1st Balloon Crossing of the Irish Sea

July 22, 1817

Richard Brinsley Sheridan, died

Admiral William Bligh Cornishman of Mutiny on the Bounty fame, died

James Sadler (February 1753 – 28 March 1828) was the first English balloonist, as well as a chemist and pastry chef.

Sadler makes the first balloon crossing of the Irish Sea, from Dublin to Anglesey, on July 22, 1817.

7 July 1810: at Oxford, on the occasion of the installation of Lord Grenville as Chancellor at Oxford University.
September 1810: from Bristol, with the chemist William Clayfield, landing safely near Combe Martin in the Bristol Channel.
29 August 1811: from Hackney to East Thorpe in Essex (near Colchester), with Henry Beaufoy (1786–1851); a number of experiments were performed.
7 October 1811: a speed record during a gale, travelling over one hundred miles (160 km) in about 1 hour 20 minutes.
1 October 1812: from Belvedere House near Drumcondra, Ireland, attempting to cross the Irish Sea; he almost drowned in the attempt but was finally picked up by a fishing boat, in the Irish Channel, off Liverpool.