Welcome to On Verticality. This blog explores the innate human need to escape the surface of the earth, and our struggles to do so throughout history. If you’re new here, a good place to start is the Theory of Verticality section or the Introduction to Verticality. If you want to receive updates on what’s new with the blog, you can use the Subscribe page to sign up. Thanks for visiting!
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Albrecht Berblinger’s Hang Glider
Albrecht Berblinger was a German tailor from Ulm, who is best known for designing a hang glider in 1811. He was the seventh child of a poor family, and from an early age he was interested in mechanics and watch-making. When he was 13, his father died and he was sent to an orphanage, where he was forced into an apprenticeship as a tailor. He was a tinkerer in his spare time, however, and after becoming a master tailor he became interested in human flight.