Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Hindenburg burst into flames over Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 of the 97 people aboard and shattering public confidence in airships forever. This disaster extinguished the golden age of passenger air travel and transformed the airship from a symbol of future luxury into a cautionary tale of engineering hubris.
Henri Giffard became the first person to make an engine-powered flight in a steam-powered airship in 1852, proving that direction could be controlled. This achievement laid the groundwork for the rigid airships that would follow in the early 20th century.
The Hindenburg disaster ended the golden age of airships because the hydrogen gas chosen for its superior lifting capacity proved to be a fatal flaw when mixed with air and ignited by a spark. The alternative helium was non-flammable but rare and expensive, leading to a decades-long reliance on hydrogen that ultimately doomed the industry.
During World War I, Germany used Zeppelins to bomb England while Britain deployed blimps to counter submarine threats. In World War II, the U.S. Navy's K-class blimps produced by the Goodyear factory were instrumental in protecting convoys along the American coastline, with only one ship sunk by a submarine while under blimp escort.
The Graf Zeppelin flew over 100,000 miles without a single passenger injury and became a symbol of airship luxury and safety, while the Hindenburg was the largest airship ever built but was designed with hydrogen-filled envelopes that made it vulnerable to disaster. The Hindenburg disaster in 1937 was the final blow that brought a definitive end to the golden age of airships.
The Zeppelin NT, introduced in 1997, represents a new generation of semi-rigid airships designed for passenger service and sightseeing tours. The Airlander 10, a modified version of the HAV 304, is currently being tested for readiness to promise to revolutionize cargo transport and military operations.