Ram Chandra Chatterjee

Ram Chandra Chatterjee রামচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়
Ram Chandra Chatterjee, riding a balloon, contemporary woodcraft
Born	Kolkata, Bengal, British India
Died	August 9, 1892(1892-08-09) Kolkata, Bengal, British India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Acrobat, gymnast, balloonist and parachutist

Ram Chandra Chatterjee ( - 9 August 1892) was an Indian acrobat, gymnast, balloonist, parachutist and patriot. He was the first Indian to fly in a balloon and land in a parachute. He was also the first Indian to take up ballooning as a profession. His daring acts with the balloon and the parachute made him a national hero.

Ram Chandra Chatterjee was a resident of Kansaripara, in the locality of Shimulia in North Kolkata. He started his career as an acrobat in the National Circus Company of Nabagopal Mitra, the founder of Hindu Mela. He was a flying trapeze player. Later he became the director of Great United Indian Circus Company. He also worked as teacher of gymnastics in the Government Normal School.

When Percival G. Spencer, a British balloonist arrived in Kolkata for his show, Chatterjee requested him to teach the art of ballooning. Spencer complied and Chatterjee had to pay him five hundred rupees for that.

He took the first flight with Percival Spencer on 10 April 1889, in the balloon named 'The Viceroy' from the grounds of the Oriental Gas Company in Narkeldanga. The Viceroy was filled with 20,000 cu.ft. of coal gas from a 6 inch gas main under the supervision of D. Coats Niven, the director of the gas company. The balloon took off at 3-30 PM and after an hour's journey they descended at the village of Palpakira-Kazipara, three miles away from Barasat.

The flight was reported in all the local newspapers and he was heralded as the first Indian aeronaut. Chatterjee was sponsored by Gopal Chandra Mukherjee, the maternal grandson of Jatindramohan Tagore, the landlord of Pathuriaghata and M. Mullick. After the successful flight Chatterjee announced his intention to run a balloon of his own and to make an extensive tour of India.

Thereafter, Chatterjee purchased 'The Viceroy' from Spencer and christened it 'The City of Calcutta'. He also floated the Calcutta Balloonists Company and announced his intention to make the first solo ascent on 27 April 1889. However, due to bad weather the flight was postponed till 4 May. A week later arrived the D-Day. A capacity crowd of 8,000 gathered to witness the spectacular event at the gas works grounds in Narkeldanga. J. Reid, the assistant manager of the gas company supervised the filling of the balloon. Clad in a light suit, with a binocular around his neck Chatterjee waved his cap as the balloon took off at 5-10 PM. After flying for 40 minutes in the northerly direction, he descended at Natagore, a village two miles from Sodepur. The account of the trip was published in The Bengalee on 11 May.