magictransistor:Vincent Lunardi’s Grand Air Balloon in it’s aerial ascent from the art
magictransistor: Vincent Lunardi’s Grand Air Balloon in it’s aerial ascent from the artillery ground Moorfields (John James Brewer), Lancaster Races, England, c. 1785. Today is the 231st anniversary of the first manned, free ascent hot air balloon flight, which occurred on November 21st, 1783 in the western outskirts of Paris. The balloon was engineered by the Montgolfier Brothers, and piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. While the Montgolfier Brothers would not be victimized by their own creation–unlike many inventors before and after them–de Rozier and his flight partner, Pierre Romain, became the first known aviation fatalities in human history when they crashed a modified version of the Montgolfier balloon in an attempt to cross the English Channel in 1785. (h/t @ESA_history on Twitter) -- source link
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