Two events on August 1 in Bulgaria’s history pull in different directions — one a tentative reach toward the skies, the other a decisive step toward democratic self-rule.
August 1, 1912 — Bulgaria’s First Homemade Balloon Takes Flight
After four months of work, the Bulgarian military balloon detachment completed the country’s first domestically built hydrogen balloon and sent it into the air for the first time on August 1, 1912. It flew alongside the newly formed aeroplane unit, both born of a 1911 decision to train Bulgarian officers as pilots and aeromechanics abroad.
The flight was modest, but its timing was not: Bulgaria was weeks away from mobilising for the First Balkan War, and the balloon went on to take part in military manoeuvres near Shumen as part of the country’s rapid push to build aerial capability from the ground up.
August 1, 1990 — Zhelyu Zhelev Becomes President
Bulgaria’s 7th Grand National Assembly elected philosopher Zhelyu Zhelev as president on August 1, 1990, making him the country’s first non-Communist head of state in more than four decades. Zhelev had been expelled from the Communist Party in 1965 for his dissident writings and went on to co-found the Union of Democratic Forces after Todor Zhivkov’s fall in November 1989.
He succeeded Petar Mladenov, who had resigned under public pressure, and in 1992 became Bulgaria’s first directly elected president. Zhelev served until 1997, steering the country through the turbulent opening years of its post-communist transition.
Find more moments like these in the August 2 and August 3 entries of this series, or explore Bulgaria From Above and our guides to Bulgaria on Bronicable.
