John Jeffries (5 February 1745 – 16 September 1819) was a Boston physician, scientist, and a military surgeon with the British Army in Nova Scotia and New York during the American Revolution. He is best known for accompanying Jean-Pierre Blanchard on his 1785 balloon flight across the English Channel.

Jeffries is credited with being among America’s first weather observers. He began taking daily weather measurements in 1774 in Boston, as well as taking weather observations in a balloon over London in 1784. National Weatherperson’s Day is celebrated in his honor on 5 February, his birthday. The Archives and Special Collections at Amherst College holds a collection of his papers, including a letter he dropped from the balloon during his historic flight, considered the oldest piece of airmail in existence.

More info at: John Jeffries – Wikipedia

Additional Articles associated with this person’s firsts:

• William Franklin Sends First Airmail Letter
• Hot Air Balloon Uses Flight Instruments

Name(s):
      John Jeffries
Occupation:
      Physician
     Surgeon
Birth:
      February 5, 1745
Boston, MA, USA
Death:
      September 16, 1819
      Boston, MA, USA
Spouse:
      Hannah Jeffries
(m. 1787)
Known for:
      The Balloon
Education:
      Harvard College (1763),
      University of Aberdeen,
      Harvard College,
      Harvard University

Additional Information:

• John Jeffries – Wikipedia
  John Jeffries (5 February 1745 – 16 September 1819) was a Boston physician, scientist, and a military surgeon with the British Army in Nova Scotia and New …
• John Jeffries | American physician | Britannica.com
  John Jeffries: Jean-Pierre Blanchard: …who, with the American physician John Jeffries, made the first aerial crossing of the English Channel. He was also the …
• John Jeffries – History department – UMBC
  John W. Jeffries, Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus of the College of Arts, … Dean Jeffries specializes in twentieth-century America and American political …
• Jeffries, John (1745-1819) | Encyclopedia.com
  Boston. John Jeffries, born on 5 February 1745, probably never dreamed that he would be the first American to fly. Jeffries was a thirty-two-year-old Boston …
• Doctor John Jeffries Biographical Sketch, Surgeon and Meteorologist
  A biographical sketch of Doctor John Jeffries, famous surgeon born in Boston.
• Junior Library Guild : Up & Down: The Adventures of John Jeffries …
  The incomparable Don Brown chronicles the ballooning misadventures of John Jeffries, scientist and aviation pioneer. Endnote. Bibliography. Quotation sources …
• Up & Down: The Adventures of John Jeffries, First American to Fly …
  This witty picture-book biography describes the adventures of eighteenth-century John Jeffries, an earlydabbler in meteorology and a respected physician who, …
• John Jeffries Air-Mail Letter Collection, 1784-1961 : Collection Overview
  American physician; first American to be airborne. Includes a letter dropped from Jeffries’ balloon during his historic flight, as well as clippings, correspondence …