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Louis Henri Capazza (1862–1928) was a French semi-professional balloonist. He was born in Bastia, Corsica on January 17, 1862. , ...which a Corsican named Capazza, coming from the town of Bastia, has invented... He lived in Belgium from 1892 to 1898 Homage page then emigrated to the United States in about 1920. He died on December 28, 1928, in Paris after contracting pneumonia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He made many flights between 1891 and 1892 in Britain and between 1893 and 1894 in France. He designed a lenticular-shaped balloon airship and was the inventor of a parachute in which he made two jumps.
During a flight attempt in August 1892 at the Brent Reservoir, England, the balloon slipped out of the net, and launched without him. The crowd turned into an angry mob, and tried to kill him.
On a flight in 1892 he used a unique balloon which utilised a large parachute in place of the traditional net. He launched from the Villette Gas Works, the balloon was purposely ripped in flight, allowing him to descend safely.
On November 14, 1899, he made the first balloon crossing of the Mediterranean Sea in "Gabizos" with a 21-year-old companion, Alphonse Fondère. He launched from Marseille at 04.30 and landed five and a half hours later in Appietto, Corsica.
On a flight attempt on May 7, 1903, his balloon caught fire on inflation.
On October 26, 1910, he piloted the Lebaudy Morning Post airship on its delivery flight form Moissons to Farnborough.
Noticed by Savorgnan de Brazza during its rise of 1886, Capazza became one of his best collaborators and was one of the founders of French Congo. He excelled in all his various endeavours - as a courageous explorer, administrator of territories, organiser of large business firms or banking, of mining railway companies and financial adviser in Morocco.
He was successively named member of the Council of the French Bank of Africa, then Superior council of the colonies and moreover administrator of the company Radio-France. He played even a certain diplomatic part, especially in 1911, at the time of the Franco-German disagreement in Morocco; according to Mr. François Berger, then secretary of the Commission of the Senate he deployed in this business "of marvellous qualities." He also suggested exchanging a territory of Means-Congo against the German rights to Morocco and was thus at the origin of the treaty which avoided the war.
He was elected president of the Commission on Airships of the French Aero Club in 1913.
In Marseilles, on the edge of the Saint-Michel plain, an inscription, due to the Botinelly sculptor and the architect Manor house, was dedicated to the glory of the two travellers by the care of the ministry for the Air, of the General advice of the Rhone delta, the Flying-club of France and the municipalities of Ajaccio, Bastia, Marseilles on November 16, 1930.
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