The first recorded parachute jump took place
On this day · 22 October 1797
From a balloon high over Paris, Andre-Jacques Garnerin cut the cord and floated down beneath a silk canopy.
On October 22, 1797, French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin rose above the Parc Monceau in Paris in a hydrogen balloon. At roughly 3,200 feet, dangling in a basket beneath a closed canvas canopy about 23 feet across, he cut the rope tethering him to the balloon.
The balloon shot skyward; Garnerin and his basket dropped. With no vent at the top, the canopy trapped air and swung wildly, pitching the basket back and forth on the way down.
The world’s first parachutist landed bruised and queasy — but very much alive.
The descent is recognized as the first parachute jump from altitude. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum holds a commemorative medal inscribed “PREMIERE DESCENT EN PARACHUTE PARC MONCEAU 22 OCTBRE 1797.” Garnerin later added a vent hole to steady the canopy, and went on to perform jumps across Europe, turning a terrifying experiment into public spectacle.
Sources & references
2 referencesWell-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.
