Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and
Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) were the inventors of the
montgolfière style hot air balloon,
globe aérostatique or
airshipAn airship or dirigible is a lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust...
. The brothers succeeded in launching the first manned ascent, carrying a young physician, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, and an audacious army officer,
François Laurent d'ArlandesFrançois Laurent d'Arlandes a French marquis, soldier and a pioneer of hot air ballooning. He and Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier made the first manned free balloon flight on 21 November 1783, in a Montgolfier balloon....
, into the sky. Later, in December 1783 in recognition of their achievement, their father Pierre was elevated to the nobility and the hereditary appellation of
de Montgolfier by King
Louis XVI of FranceLouis XVI of France ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. Suspended and arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792, he was tried by the National Convention, found guilty of treason, and executed by guillotine on 21...
.
Early years
The brothers were born into a family of
paperPaper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
manufacturers in
AnnonayAnnonay is a commune in the north of the Ardèche department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department, although it is not the préfecture , which resides in the smaller town of Privas....
, in
ArdècheArdèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc...
, France. Their parents were Pierre Montgolfier (1700-1793), and his wife Anne Duret (1701-1760), who had sixteen children. Pierre established his eldest son Raymond Montgolfier, later Raymond de Montgolfier (1730-1792) as his successor.
Joseph, the 12th child, possessed a typical inventor's temperament—a maverick and dreamer, and impractical in terms of business and personal affairs. Étienne had a much more even and businesslike temperament. As the 15th child, and particularly troublesome to his elder siblings, he was sent to Paris to train as an architect. However, after the sudden and unexpected death of Raymond in 1772, he was recalled to Annonay to run the family business. In the subsequent 10 years, Étienne applied his talent for technical innovation to the family business; papermaking was a high-tech industry in the 18th century. He succeeded in incorporating the latest Dutch innovations of the day into the family mills. His work led to recognition by the government of France as well as the awarding of a government grant to establish the Montgolfier factory as a model for other French papermakers.
Initial experiments
Of the two brothers, it was Joseph who first contemplated building "
machines" . Gillispie puts it as early as 1777 when Joseph observed laundry drying over a fire incidentally form pockets that billowed upwards. Joseph made his first definitive experiments in November of 1782 while living in the city of
AvignonAvignon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in south-eastern France with an estimated mid-2004 population of 89,300 in the city itself and a population of 290,466 in the metropolitan area at the 1999 census.The city is well known for its Palais des Papes , where several popes...
. He reported, some years later, that he was watching a fire one evening while contemplating one of the great military issues of the day—an assault on the fortress of
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
, which had proved impregnable by both sea and land. Joseph mused on the possibility of an air assault using troops lifted by the same force that was lifting the embers from the fire. He believed that contained within the smoke was a special gas, which he called 'Montgolfier Gas', with a special property he called 'levity'.
As a result of these musings, Joseph set about building a box-like chamber 1x1x1,3m (3 ft by by 4 ft) out of very thin wood and covering the sides and top with lightweight
taffetaTaffeta is a crisp, smooth woven fabric made from silk or synthetic fibres. The word is Persian in origin, and means "twisted woven." It is considered to be a "high end" fabric, suitable for use in ball gowns, wedding dresses, and in interiors for curtains or wallcovering. There are two distinct...
cloth. Under the bottom of the box he crumpled and lit some paper. The contraption quickly lifted off its stand and collided with the ceiling. Joseph then recruited his brother to balloon building by writing the prophetic words: "Get in a supply of
taffetaTaffeta is a crisp, smooth woven fabric made from silk or synthetic fibres. The word is Persian in origin, and means "twisted woven." It is considered to be a "high end" fabric, suitable for use in ball gowns, wedding dresses, and in interiors for curtains or wallcovering. There are two distinct...
and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world."
The two brothers then set about building a contraption 3 times larger in scale (27 times larger in volume). The lifting force was so great that they lost control of their craft on its very first test flight on 14 December 1782. The device floated nearly 2 kilometres (about 1.2 mi). It was destroyed after landing by the "indiscretion" of passersby.
Public demonstrations
The brothers decided to make a public demonstration of a balloon in order to establish their claim to its invention. They constructed a globe-shaped balloon of sackcloth with three thin layers of paper inside. The envelope could contain nearly 790 m³ (28,000 cubic feet) of air and weighed 225 kg (500 lb). It was constructed of four pieces (the dome and three lateral bands), and held together by 1,800 buttons. A reinforcing "fish net" of cord covered the outside of the envelope.
On 4 June 1783, they flew this craft as their first public demonstration at Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries from the
Etats particulars. Its flight covered 2 km (1.2 mi), lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 1.600 - 2.000m (5,200 - 6,600 ft). Word of their success quickly reached Paris. Etienne went to the capital to make further demonstrations and to solidify the brothers' claim to the invention of flight. Joseph, given his unkempt appearance and shyness, remained with the family. Etienne was
the epithome of sober virtues ... modest in clothes and manner... He was dressed stylishly in black.
In collaboration with the successful wallpaper manufacturer,
Jean-Baptiste RéveillonJean-Baptiste Réveillon, was a French wallpaper manufacturer. Réveillon's career was an exemplary story of the self-made businessman.-Life:...
, Etienne constructed a envelope of taffeta coated with a varnish of
alumAlum is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the hydrated aluminium potassium sulfate with the formula KAl
2.12H
2O...
(which has fireproofing properties). The balloon was sky blue and decorated with golden flourishes, signs of the
zodiacIn astronomy, the zodiac is the ring of constellations that lines the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the Sun across the sky over the course of the year. The Moon and planets also lie within the ecliptic, and so are also within the constellations of the zodiac. In astrology, the zodiac...
and suns. The design showed the intervention of Réveillon. The next test was on the 11th of September from the grounds of
la Folie Titon, close to the house of Réveillon. There was some concern about the effects of flight into the upper atmosphere on living creatures. The king proposed to launch two criminals, but it is most likely that the inventors decided to send animals aloft first.
On 19 September 1783 the
Aerostat Réveillon was flown with the first living beings in a basket attached to the balloon: a sheep, called Montauciel (Climb-to-the-sky), a duck and a rooster.
The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology. The duck was expected to be unharmed by being lifted aloft. It was included as a control for effects created by the aircraft rather than the altitude. The rooster was included as a further control as it was a bird that did not fly at high altitudes. This demonstration was performed before a huge crowd at the royal palace in
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
, before King
Louis XVI of FranceLouis XVI of France ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. Suspended and arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792, he was tried by the National Convention, found guilty of treason, and executed by guillotine on 21...
and Queen
Marie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I....
. The flight lasted approximately eight minutes, covered two miles (3 km), and obtained an altitude of about . The craft landed safely after flying.
Human flight
With the successful demonstration at Versailles, and again in collaboration with Réveillon, Etienne started construction of a balloon for the purpose of making flights with humans. The craft was tall and in diameter. The balloon was tested in tethered flights on 15 October by
Pilâtre de RozierJean-François Pilâtre de Rozier was a French chemistry and physics teacher, and one of the first pioneers of aviation. He and the Marquis d'Arlandes made the first manned free balloon flight on 21 November 1783, in a Montgolfier balloon. He died when his balloon crashed near Wimereux in the...
, a twenty-six-year-old physician, who offered his services. On the 17 October the experiment was repeated before a group of scientists and 19 October Rozier and André Giroud de Villette, a wallpaper manufacturer from Madrid, reached within 15 seconds along retaining ropes.
On 21 November 1783 the first free flight by humans was made by Pilâtre, together with an army officer, the marquis d'Arlandes. The flight began from the grounds of the
Château de la MuetteThe Château de la Muette is a château located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, near the Porte de la Muette.Three châteaux have been located on the site since a hunting lodge was transformed into the first château for Marguerite de Valois, the first wife of King Henry IV, in the...
(close to the
Bois de BoulogneThe Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt.The Bois de Boulogne covers an area of 8.459 km² The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris,...
(park)) in the western outskirts of Paris. They flew aloft about above
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for a distance of nine kilometres. After 25 minutes the machine landed between the windmills, outside the city ramparts, on the
Butte-aux-CaillesThe Butte-aux-Cailles is a neighbourhood of Paris, France located in the XIIIe arrondissement on one of the hills in the southeast corner of the city....
. Enough fuel remained on board at the end of the flight to have allowed the balloon to fly four to five times as far. However, burning embers from the fire were scorching the balloon fabric and had to be daubed out with sponges. As it appeared it could destroy the balloon, Pilâtre took off his coat to stop the fire.
The early flights made a sensation. Numerous engravings commemorated the events. Chairs were designed with balloon backs, and mantel clocks were produced in enamel and gilt-bronze replicas set with a dial in the balloon. One could buy crockery decorated with naive pictures of balloons.
Following launches
In 1766, the British scientist
Henry CavendishHenry Cavendish, FRS was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and...
had discovered hydrogen, by adding sulphuric acid to iron, tin, or zinc shavings. The development of
gas balloonA gas balloon is any balloon that stays aloft due to being filled with a gas less dense than air or lighter than air . A gas balloon may also be called a Charlière for its inventor, the Frenchman Jacques Charles. Today, familiar gas balloons include large blimps and small rubber party balloons...
s proceeded almost in parallel with the work of the Montgolfiers. This work was led by Jacques Charles. On the 27th of August 1783, a
hydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly flammable diatomic gas with the molecular formula H
2...
balloon was launched from the
Champ de MarsThe Champ de Mars is a large public green-space in Paris, France, located in the 7th arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius of Rome. Champ de Mars means "Field of Mars", after Mars the god of...
in Paris. Six thousand people paid for a seat. A downpour of rain ended the show. On December 1st, Charles went up into the sky twice.
Work on each type of balloon was spurred on by the knowledge that there was a competing group and alternative technology. For a variety of reasons, including the fact that the French government chose to put a proponent of hydrogen in charge of balloon development,
hot air balloonThe hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology and is a subset of balloon aircraft.On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created by the...
s were superseded by
hydrogenHydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly flammable diatomic gas with the molecular formula H
2...
balloons. Hydrogen balloons became the predominant technology for the next 180 years.
Hydrogen balloons were used for all major ballooning accomplishments such as the crossing of the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
on 7 January 1785, by the tireless aviators
Jean-Pierre BlanchardJean-Pierre Blanchard was a French inventor, most remembered as a pioneer in aviation and ballooning.-Biography:...
and Dr.
John JeffriesJohn Jeffries was a Boston physician, scientist, and a military surgeon with the British Army in Nova Scotia and New York during the American Revolution. He is best known for accompanying Jean-Pierre Blanchard on his 1785 balloon flight across the English Channel. Dr. John Jeffries also played a...
, from Boston.
Competing claims
Some claim that the hot air balloon was actually invented some 74 years earlier by the
Brazilian PortugueseBrazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by virtually all the almost 200 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay.Roughly speaking, the differences...
priest
Bartolomeu de GusmãoBartolomeu de Gusmão, born Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão , was a priest and naturalist born in the Portuguese colony of Brazil, recalled for his early work on lighter-than-air airship design.He began his novitiate in the Society of Jesus at Bahia when he was about fifteen years old, but left the...
. A description of his invention was published in 1709, in Vienna, and another one that was lost was found in the Vatican (circa 1917).
However, this claim is not generally recognized by aviation historians outside the Portuguese speaking community, in particular the
FAIThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. This includes man-carrying vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned vehicles...
.
External links