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First balloon flight. Jacques and Joseph Montgolfier of Annonay, France, sent up a small smoke-filled balloon about mid-November.
First hydrogen-filled balloon flight. Jacques A. C. Charles, Paris physicist, supervised construction by A. J. and M. N. Robert of a 13-foot-diameter balloon that was filled with hydrogen. It got up to about 3,000 ft and traveled about 16 mi in a 45-minute flight (Aug. 27).
First human balloon flights. A Frenchman, Jean Pilí¢tre de Rozier, made the first captive-balloon ascension (Oct. 15). With the Marquis d'Arlandes, Pilí¢tre de Rozier made the first free flight, reaching a peak altitude of about 500 ft, and traveling about 51/2 mi in 20 min. (Nov. 21).
