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Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe (August 20, 1832-January 16, 1913), also known as Professor T. S. C. Lowe, was an American Civil War aeronaut, scientist and inventor, mostly self-educated in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and aeronautics, and the father of military aerial reconnaissance in the United States.
By the late 1850s he was well known for his advanced theories in the meteorological sciences as well as his balloon building. Among his aspirations were plans for a transatlantic flight.
Lowe's scientific endeavors were cut short by the onset of the American Civil War, for which he offered his services performing aerial reconnaissance on the Confederate troops for the Union Army.
In July 1861, Lowe was appointed Chief Aeronaut of the Union Army Balloon Corps by President Abraham Lincoln. Though his work was generally successful, it was not fully appreciated by all members of the military, and disputes over his operations and pay scale forced him to resign in 1863.
Lowe returned to the private sector and continued his scientific exploration of hydrogen gas manufacturing. He invented the water gas process by which large amounts of hydrogen gas could be produced from steam and coke. His inventions and patents on this process and ice making machines made him a millionaire.
In 1887, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and eventually built a 2,230 m2 home in Pasadena. He opened several ice-making plants and founded Citizen's Bank of Los Angeles. Lowe was introduced to David J. Macpherson, a civil engineer, who had drawn up plans for a scenic mountain railroad.
In 1891, they incorporated the Pasadena & Mount Wilson Railroad Co. and began the construction of what would become the Mount Lowe Railway into the hills above Altadena.
More information: Mount Lowe
The railway opened on July 4, 1893, and was met with quick interest and success. Lowe continued construction toward Oak Mountain, renamed Mount Lowe, at an exhausting rate, both physically and financially.
By 1899 Lowe had gone into receivership and eventually lost the railway to Jared S. Torrance. Lowe's fortunes had been all but lost, and he lived out his remaining days at his daughter's home in Pasadena, where he died at age 80.
Thaddeus Lowe was born August 20, 1832, to Clovis and Alpha Green Lowe in Jefferson Mills, Coos County, New Hampshire. Lowe's grandfather, Levi Lowe, fought in the Revolutionary War, and his father was a drummer boy in the War of 1812. Both Clovis and Alpha were native New Hampshirites, of pioneer stock and descendants of 17th century Pilgrims. Clovis was a cobbler, but later became a merchant in Jefferson. He dabbled in politics and was even elected to state legislature at one time. His politics and opinion were well respected in the state.
The lecture circuit business proved lucrative enough for Lowe to seek out the education he so lacked as a child. He tried studying medicine to fulfill his grandmother's wish, but the boredom redirected him to his first interest, aviation with the use of lighter-than-air gases. American balloonists used coke gas to inflate limp silk bags, as opposed to the original French balloons which were cotton weave over rigid frameworks that were stood over fires to collect hot smoke (hot air).
By the late 1850s Lowe had become a foremost balloon builder and continued his lucrative business as a showman giving balloon rides to passersby and funfair attendees.
More information: Smithsonian-National Air and Space Museum
Lowe's latest balloon, the City of New York, was a massive 31.4 m diameter balloon with a 10,433 kg lift capacity, which included a 6 m diameter, eight-man canvas-covered gondola and a suspended lifeboat named for his wife Leontine. It was prepared for a test flight to be launched at Reservoir Square in New York on November 1, 1859.
A second test flight, at the suggestion of Prof. Henry, was made from Cincinnati and was to return him to the eastern seaboard. For this flight he used the smaller balloon Enterprise.
His flight took off on the early morning of April 19, 1861, two days after Virginia had seceded from the Union. The flight misdirected him to Unionville, SC, where he was put under house arrest as a Yankee spy.
Having established his identity as a man of science, he was allowed to return home, where he had received word from Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase to come to Washington with his balloon. The American Civil War permanently ended Lowe's attempt at a transatlantic crossing.
Lowe died at his daughter's Pasadena, California, home at age 80 after a few years of failing health. Lowe was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California.
More information: Grin
nearly 50 miles in diameter.
The city, with its girdle of encampments,
presents a superb scene.
I have pleasure in sending you this first dispatch
ever telegraphed from an aerial station.
Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
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