Henry Tracey Coxwell (1819-1900), English aeronaut who, though a qualified dentist, became a professional aeronaut in 1848. By 1862 he had made over 400 ascents and in that year he piloted the balloon for the Greenwich Obsevatory Superintendent of Meteorology Dr. James Glaisher, to take barometric and other measurements at increasing altitudes. This was the first of a number of voyages by Glaisher and Coxwell making important contributions to the establishment of the science of meteorology. With Glaisher he attained the greatest height recorded, nearly 12, 000 metres. Coxwell was an advocate of the use of balloons in wartime, so it is notable that in 2012 the US military in Afghanistan had 86 tethered unmanned aerostats (balloons) employed on surveillance and threat detection duties, a number which is set to increase.