One such unfortunate incident transpired during a demonstration by British aeronaut Henry Tracey Coxwell.
James Glaisher (left) and Henry Tracey Coxwell ballooning in 1864.
Coxwell and Glaisher hadsoared to the stratospherein a hot air balloon reaching an altitude of 35,000 feet.
In the thin, oxygen-deficit atmosphere, Glaisher had passed out and Coxwell lost all sensation in his hands.
On the day of the flight, a crowd of about 50,000 people gathered on the racecourse.
This angered the crowds further because they now believed that Coxwell had no intention to ascend.
As she fell to the ground bleeding, it caused further anger in the crowd.
However, his admonition was met with only verbal abuse, prompting Coxwell to carry out his threat.
As the envelope deflated, the crowd surged forward and ripped it into pieces.
Subsequently, they set fire to the basket, reducing it to ashes.
Coxwell himself was attacked and his clothes torn from his body.
He ran for safety and found refuge at the house of the town clerk.
A depiction of the riot from the Penny Illustrated Paper.
Leicester residents blamed for the disturbance on out-of-towners, but the damage was done.
The satirical magazine Punch called Leicester residents Balloonatics, and the term stayed for some time.
