Letitia Ann Sage (née Hoare; c.1750–after 1817) was the first British woman to fly, making her ascent on 29 June 1785, in a balloon launched by Vincenzo Lunardi (an Italian aeronaut)[1] from St George's Fields in London.

[4] Mrs Sage's first flight was planned by Lunardi in May 1785, when the two of them, plus George Biggin, were due to ascend from London, but, as was common in the early days of ballooning, the weight proved too great to allow the balloon - which relied on an adequate supply of hydrogen[5] - to get off the ground, so Mrs Sage and George Biggin had their places taken by three animals: a pigeon, a cat and a dog.

[6] The follow-up plan was for Mrs Sage, George Biggin and Lunardi himself to make the ascent along with two other guests, Colonel Hastings and a female acquaintance, who had been promised a place only if the balloon proved capable of carrying more than three passengers.

Due to the force of the wind, their landing was not smooth and Mrs Sage sustained an injury as she had hit her leg on an iron rod.

In the course of the journey they had time to eat a meal consisting of chicken and ham and drink some Florence wine, discarding the bottle over the side.