One fine day in late spring 1835, veteran aeronaut Charles Green climbed into a hot air balloon from a raft floating on a lake, and soared into the sky. Flight was nothing new for Green – this was his 198th ascent –but today he was joined by an unusual passenger: Jacopo the monkey, a resident of the Surrey Zoological Gardens. As this unlikely duo floated above Walworth, then just south of London, Jacopo, wearing a smart red jacket, descended “with great velocity” in a specially made parachute, to the delight of the watching crowds.
Jacopo was physically unharmed, though newspaper reports of the event noted that he “seemed not much to relish the ride”. A label was attached to the poor primate, promising a small fee – and free admission to the gardens – for anyone who found him. Evidently, Jacopo was brought back safely; two years later he returned to the skies, this time with Margaret Graham, the first British woman to make a solo balloon flight.
The hot air balloon ride was one of many attractions at Surrey Zoological Gardens, which had opened on 13 August 1831 in the grounds of Walworth Manor House, Kennington. At the time, zoos were rare novelties but,
