Madame Sage and George Biggin during the balloon flight in 1785.. Captain Vincenzo Lunardi, the Italian daredevil aeronaut, Madame Laetitia Sage and George Biggin during the first balloon flight in London, June 29, 1785. Madame Sage was the first woman to fly in a balloon. In fact, the nacelle could only carry two passengers, so Lunardi stepped down. Handcolored engraving Koch & Soligny after P. Sellier from Sircos and Pallier's History of Balloons, Roy, Paris, 1876.