First Balloon - Parachutist
Dienstag, den 23. Oktober 2007The first man who jumped out af a balloon was the frenchman André-Jacques Garnerin.
Garnerin made his first successful parachute jump above Paris on 22nd October, 1797. After ascended to an altitude of 3,200 feet (975 m) in an hydrogen balloon he jumped from the basket. As Garnerin failed to include an air vent at the top of his parachute, he oscillated wildly in his descent. However, he landed unhurt half a mile from the balloon’s takeoff site. Garnerin therefore became the first man to design a parachute that was capable of slowing a man’s fall from a high altitude.
In 1799, Garnerin’s wife, Jeanne-Genevieve Garnerin, became the first woman to make a parachute jump. Garnerin made exhibition jumps all over Europe including one of 8,000 feet (2,438 m) in England. via spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
