First Untethered Flight: Balloons Take to Paris Skies
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes, lifted off in Paris aboard a hot air balloon that drifted without ropes or anchors for nearly twenty minutes. This daring ascent proved humanity could leave the ground under its own power, instantly launching the era of aviation and shattering the ancient belief that flight was impossible for humans.
November 21, 1783
243 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Paris
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Hot air balloon
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Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
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François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes
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Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier
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François Laurent d'Arlandes
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Hot air balloon
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Paris
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François Laurent
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Balloon (aeronautics)
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Quartier de la Muette
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Butte-aux-Cailles
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Montgolfier brothers
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