At the end of January 1769, the French aviation pioneer, balloonist and inventor of the frameless parachute, André-Jacques Garnerin, was born.
The exact date of his birth varies, depending on the source. Although it seems that 31st January is the most common version, some of the French experts indicate he was born one day earlier, and the last day of the month was the date Garnerin was baptised at Église Saint-Sauveur (the Holy Saviour church) in Paris.
Garnerin´s numerous studies and experiments, performed together with his older brother, Jean- Baptiste Olivier Garnerin, were a significant contribution to ballooning. At the beginning of the French Revolution, and in recognition of his experiences and developments, André-Jacques Garnerin was appointed the position of aérostier des fêtes publiques (English, literally: balloonist of public festivals, however often translated as ´Official Aeronaut of France´), a high official position at ministerial level.
On 22nd October 1797 – or on 1st Brumaire of the Year VI, according to the new Republican calendar – André-Jacques Garnerin performed the first successful descend with frameless parachute. The parachute had a diameter of approximately 7 metres and was lifted into the air with a balloon. The parachute canopy was closed during the ascend and Garnerin was standing in a basket attached to the bottom of the parachute.
More information about the life and developments of the French aviation pioneer in our article issued in October of 2024 – André-Jacques Garnerin and the first frameless parachute in history.
Note: in our aforementioned bio-article about Garnierin we adopted the 30thJanuary variant as the date of his birth, following the French Wikipedia that justifies this date cross-referring to Parish and Civil Registers in Paris.
Cover photo: M. Garnerin, The celebrated Arial Traveller – portrait by John Martyn (1794-1828), source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, ark:/12148/cb42146119w, cropped
