Death of Thomas Harris. 19th-century illustration of the death of British aeronaut Thomas Harris on 25 May 1824. Harris invented a device to release the gas from a balloon on landing. This flight was in the balloon 'Royal George' from Vauxhall, London, with the crash (possibly due to a malfunction of Harris's invention) at Beddington, near Croydon. His companion, Miss Sophia Stock, was badly injured. Some accounts say that Harris jumped in an attempt to save her life. Artwork from 'Aerostation - Aviation' (1911) by French civil engineer Max de Nansouty (1854-1913), part of the 'Les merveilles de la science' series of 1867-1891 by Louis Figuier.