Garnerin's Parachute Descent
- When
- 1797–1798
- Where
- Parc Monceau, Paris; Paris
- Episodes
- 3
On 22 October 1797 French balloonist André-Jacques Garnerin carried out the first frameless parachute descent, using a silk parachute from a balloon gondola at Parc Monceau, Paris. The feat became a cause célèbre and led to regular demonstrations at the same park.
Episodes
- First frameless parachute descent at Parc Monceau
Garnerin descended by silk parachute from a balloon gondola at Parc Monceau, Paris, on 22 October 1797, the first frameless parachute descent.
- The descent becomes a cause célèbre
The 22 October 1797 descent became a cause célèbre, especially after Garnerin announced in 1798 that his next flight would carry a woman passenger.
- Regular parachute demonstrations at Parc Monceau
Following the first descent, Garnerin staged regular tests and demonstrations of his parachute at Parc Monceau, Paris.
Background and detail
Background. André-Jacques Garnerin (31 January 1769 – 18 August 1823) was a French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute. During the first phase of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1797) he had been captured by British troops, and he subsequently began experiments with early parachutes based on umbrella-shaped devices.
The Descent of 22 October 1797. On 22 October 1797 (1st Brumaire, Year VI of the Republican calendar), Garnerin carried out the first frameless parachute descent in the gondola with a silk parachute at Parc Monceau, Paris. His first parachute was made of white canvas with a diameter of approximately 23 feet (7 m).
Aftermath and Legacy. The descent became a cause célèbre, heightened when Garnerin announced in 1798 that his next flight would include a woman as a passenger. He went on to stage regular tests and demonstrations of his parachute at Parc Monceau, and the jump was later commemorated by a Google Doodle on 22 October 2013.
People involved
- André-Jacques Garnerin · French balloonist and inventor of the frameless parachute; performed the descent
Sources
- André-Jacques Garnerin Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.