A silk canopy deployed over Parc Monceau on 22 October 1797, marking the first successful descent using a frameless parachute. André-Jacques Garnerin, a Parisian physicist and engineer, severed his connection to a hydrogen balloon at an altitude of 3,000 feet, allowing his basket to plummet toward the earth beneath a canopy spanning approximately 23 feet in diameter.
Military Imprisonment
During the French Revolutionary Wars between 1792 and 1797, Garnerin faced significant personal hardship. Captured by British military forces, he was subsequently transferred to Austrian custody. He remained a prisoner of war in Buda, Hungary, for a duration of three years before eventually returning to his work in aeronautics.
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A student of the pioneering balloonist Jacques Charles, Garnerin developed a professional focus on hydrogen-based flight. Collaborating extensively with his older brother, Jean-Baptiste-Olivier, he eventually earned the title of Official Aeronaut of France. His parachute design relied on a central pole structure and a rope mechanism that allowed the pilot to detach from the balloon mid-air. Though the basket experienced violent oscillations during his inaugural jump, he landed safely.
Public Demonstrations and Controversies
Garnerin frequently utilized Parc Monceau for testing his equipment. In 1798, his plan to fly with a female passenger triggered a confrontation with the Central Bureau of Police, who cited concerns over health risks and morality. After intervention from government ministers, the flight proceeded with Citoyenne Henri on 8 July 1798, landing in Goussainville. Later, during a tour of England in 1802, he performed notable flights with Captain R. C. Sowden and Edward Hawke Locker, while simultaneously defending himself against claims regarding his political conduct during the French Revolution.
Family Contributions
The Garnerin family maintained a collaborative approach to engineering. His wife, Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse, became a notable aeronaut in her own right, completing a balloon ascent in 1798 and a parachute descent in 1799. His brother, Jean-Baptiste-Olivier, improved parachute strength and weight ratios, while also designing maritime flotation devices used by Garnerin’s niece, Élisa, for sea-based jumps near Venice.
Fast facts
- Born: 1769, Paris
- Died: 1823, Paris
- First parachute descent: 22 October 1797
- Official Aeronaut of France: Title held by André-Jacques Garnerin
- Brother: Jean-Baptiste-Olivier Garnerin (1766–1849)
- Wife: Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse
- Longest flight: 395 km, October 1803
- Prisoner of war: Buda, Hungary, for three years
Questions readers ask
What mechanism did Garnerin use to operate his parachute?
He used a white canvas umbrella-shaped device featuring a central pole with a rope running through a tube, which he severed to separate from the balloon.
Who was the first woman to perform a parachute descent?
Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse, the wife of André-Jacques Garnerin, accomplished this feat on 12 October 1799 from an altitude of 900 meters.
Achievements
- Worked as inventor, balloonist and engineer
