The Montgolfier Brothers and the Invention of Aviation

The first hot air balloon ascension over Paris in September 1783 has been described so many times that it and its passengers—the sheep, the rooster, and the duck—have joined Benjamin Franklin and his kite in the folklore of our culture. Not so well known is the earlier history of ballooning; that the brothers Montgolfier had demonstrated their hot air balloons repeatedly for several months prior to the ascent over Paris; or that the physicist Charles, urged onward and financed by an enthusiast, Barthelemy Faujas de Saint-Fond, launched successfully the first fabric balloon filled with hydrogen over Paris more than 3 weeks prior to the memorable ascent of the sheep, and rooster, and the duck. For all of its well-documented detail, the book is readable and enjoyable. It is a well-written but complex book in which Professor Gillispie develops a number of subjects to recreate the era in perspective. The origins and the disposition of the Montgolfiers, the industry of the period, the idea of capturing heated air are all reported in detail. The attempts to obtain government funding and the promotional activities in Paris were forerunners of the modern techniques for obtaining support of research activities.