Two brothers in France, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier constructed hot air balloons.
Étienne Montgolfier became the first human to lift off the surface of the earth, making at least one tethered flight from the yard of the Réveillon workshop in Faubourg Saint-Antoine. This most likely took place on October 15, 1783.
Later that day, Pilâtre de Rozier became the second person to ascend into the air. He flew to an altitude of 80 feet or 24 m, which was the length of the mooring line.
On 21 November 1783 they conducted the first manned free flight. The first human to fly freely was Pilâtre, together with an army officer, the marquis d'Arlandes.
The flight began from the grounds of the Château de la Muette (close to the Bois de Boulogne (park)) in the western outskirts of Paris.
They flew aloft about 3,000 feet (910 m) above Paris for a distance of nine kilometres.
After 25 minutes, the machine landed between the windmills, outside the city ramparts, on the Butte-aux-Cailles. Enough fuel remained on board at the end of the flight to have allowed the balloon to fly four to five times as far.
Source: Wikipedia
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