On this day in 1797, French balloonist André-Jacques Garnerin made history by completing the first successful parachute descent from a balloon.
Garnerin reportedly began developing ideas for a parachute while imprisoned in Hungary during the French Revolution. However, he was not the first to imagine such a device. Leonardo da Vinci had sketched an early parachute design centuries earlier.
After his release and return to Paris, Garnerin constructed a silk parachute approximately 23 feet wide and attached it to the basket of a hydrogen balloon.
On Oct. 22, 1797, Garnerin ascended approximately 3,200 feet above Paris before separating his parachute from the balloon.
As he descended, the parachute swung violently from side to side. The canopy lacked a vent that could have helped stabilize his descent, causing it to oscillate as he fell toward the ground.
Despite the turbulent descent, Garnerin landed safely in a field about half a mile from where he had taken off.
The experience did not discourage Garnerin from continuing his experiments. He reportedly completed more than 200 additional parachute jumps during his career.
His wife, Jeanne Garnerin, also became a pioneering parachutist, making a successful jump in 1799.
More than a century later, parachutes took on an increasingly practical role during World War I, when they were used to help military personnel escape from observation balloons.
What began as an experimental descent over Paris eventually helped pave the way for modern parachuting and aviation safety.
