James Sadler (February 1753 – 28 March 1828) was the first English balloonist, as well as a chemist and pastry chef.

Crossing the Irish Sea

Sadler makes the first balloon crossing of the Irish Sea, from Dublin to Anglesey, on July 22, 1817.

Selected balloon ascent

• 7 July 1810: at Oxford, on the occasion of the installation of Lord Grenville as Chancellor at Oxford University.
• September 1810: from Bristol, with the chemist William Clayfield, landing safely near Combe Martin in the Bristol Channel.
• 29 August 1811: from Hackney to East Thorpe in Essex (near Colchester), with Henry Beaufoy (1786–1851); a number of experiments were performed.
• 7 October 1811: a speed record during a gale, travelling over one hundred miles (160 km) in about 1 hour 20 minutes.
• 1 October 1812: from Belvedere House near Drumcondra, Ireland, attempting to cross the Irish Sea; he almost drowned in the attempt but was finally picked up by a fishing boat, in the Irish Channel, off Liverpool.