Baptiste Henri Jacques Giffard was born in Paris in 1825.
He invented the Giffard dirigible, an airship powered with a steam engine. Weighing over 180 kg, it was the world's first passenger-carrying airship.
Both practical and steerable, the hydrogen-filled airship was equipped with a 3 hp steam engine that drove a propeller. The engine was fitted with a downward pointing funnel.
The exhaust steam was mixed in with the combustion gases and it was hoped by these means to stop sparks rising up to the gas bag. He also installed a vertical rudder.
On 24 September 1852 Giffard made the first powered and controlled flight traveling 27 km from Paris to Trappes. The wind was too strong to allow him to make way against it, so he was unable to return to the start. He was however able to make turns and circles, proving that a powered airship could be steered and controlled.
Henri Giffard flew 27 km or 17 mi from the Paris Hippodrome to Trappes in a steam-powered dirigible. The flight reached a speed of about 10 km/h or 6.2 mph.
Source: Wikipedia
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