Artemis Sharp was an innovative balloonist who lived in Glasgow, Scotland. He is the father of Deryn and Jaspert Sharp. He died in a ballooning fire two years before Deryn joins the Air Service. He taught both Deryn and Jaspert about airmanship, but Deryn was the more skilled pupil.
Artemis Sharp died after dropping Deryn from the gondola of a hot-air balloon which had caught fire from a burner, saving her life. Unfortunately, the balloon flew too high for him to escape without Deryn's weight to hold it down, and he burned to death. His bravery earned him the Air Gallantry Cross, the highest honor that can be given to a civillian for deeds in the air.
Deryn tells Alek that she didn't talk for a month after her father's death, and she still sometimes has nightmares about witnessing the accident. In Leviathan, a burning zeppelin reminds Deryn of these nightmares, and when Newkirk nearly burns to death on a Huxley, Deryn is again reminded of her father's death.
The story of his death was printed in the Times of London, which Eddie Malone takes information from for his article about Deryn. It is from this article that Alek discovers Deryn's secret.