| Description des expériences de la machine aérostatique de MM. de Montgolfier, et de celles auxquelles cette decouverte a donne lieu; Suiviiede Recherches sur la hauteur á laquelle est parvuenu le ballon du Champ-de-Mars : D'un. Mémoire sur le gaz inflammable & sur celui qu'ont emplové MM. de Montgolfier | |
| 1783 |  |
| Barthelemy Faujas de Saint-Fond(1741-1819) | |
|
The brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier constructed several model hot air balloons with a variety of materials and attempted repeated flight experiments. They finally succeeded with their 36-foot diameter balloon of linen lined with paper that rose to 6000 feet on June 5, 1783. Barthelemy Faujes de Saint-Fond, an eminent French scientist and famous geologist best known for his work on volcanoes, showed interest in the Montgolfier experiment and agreed to finance them. He also became a chronicler for the Montgolfier brothers and kept detailed records of the flight and descriptions of the Montgolfiers’ balloon. On November 21, 1783, Pilatre de Roger and Marguis d’Arlandes first flew for 25 minutes with the hot-air balloon from the Chateau de la Muette in Paris. Faujas de Saint-Fond gave the earliest, precise account of this first human ascent in a supplementary chapter of this volume. The book became the first practical treatise on aeronautics. |
