Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (6 January 1745 - 2 August 1799)[1] was a French paper manufacturer. He, along with his brother Joseph, invented the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon.
Biography[]
Jacques-Étienne was the 15th of 16 children. His brother wrote to him after having built a small prototype of what would later become the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon. Together they built a second fabric-covered craft, scaled up by three. They tested it on 14 December, 1782, but lost control of the vessel, which floated over a mile before landing, and it was destroyed by passerby. Their first public demonstration of the hot-air balloon was held on June 4, 1783, in Annonay. The flight lasted ten minutes, reached an altitude of approximately 6,000 feet, and covered 1.2 miles. Joseph remained in Annonnay while Étienne represented the brothers in Paris.[1]
On September 9, 1783, in Versailles,[1] under the patronage of the French Academy of Sciences,[2] a balloon was flown with the first living beings to understand the effect of flight upon them, its occupants were a sheep, a duck and a rooster. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were in attendance.[1]
In October 1783, Étienne became the first human in flight.[1]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed Unity (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook (mentioned only)