Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

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Tribute to Pilâtre de Rozier, c. 1890s

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (d. 1785) was the first human being known to fly in a lighter-than-air vessel.

He made this first ascent on 15 October 1783. Two years later, he died attempting to cross the English Channel, becoming the first known fatality from an aircraft's crash.[1]

References

  1. James Means, "A Few Words About a Great Hope"; Aeronautical Annual Vol. 1 (1895), p. 124.

Links

See Also

  • Emmanuel Chadeau, the unpublished version of his Doctoral dissertation, in which Pilâtre's research with the “Montgolfière” is put into context succinctly.