This week's brain-fuzzler:

All of you smarty-pants File readers know, of course, that the first manned balloon flight was in 1783, in France. Sixty-one years later, in 1844, the New York Sun reported the first transatlantic crossing by balloon. The newspaper account was, however, pure invention: it was only relatively recently (in the 1970s) that such a crossing was successfully attempted.

Who was the creator and perpetrator of the 19th-century hoax?

The first correct post to comments will win a collection of deflated balloon animals created for the occasion. If you Google or consult your local library or the oracle at Delphi you aren't doing this right at all, really. Post as many guesses as you like, but only one guess per post, please.