Lenormand's Parachute Descent

Background. Lenormand was born in Montpellier on May 25, 1757, the son of a clockmaker, and between 1775 and 1780 studied physics and chemistry under Lavoisier and Berthollet in Paris, where he also became involved with saltpeter administration. Before his public jump he tested his parachutes on animals and had earlier jumped from a tree using a pair of modified umbrellas.

The Descent. After refining his contraption, Lenormand jumped from the tower of the Montpellier observatory using a 14-foot (4.3 m) parachute with a rigid wooden frame, in front of a crowd that included Joseph Montgolfier. The passage gives December 26, 1783 as the date, while another passage notes December 26, 1783 as the most widely reported date; the legacy row records December 31, 1783, so the day remains disputed.

Significance and Aftermath. Lenormand is considered the first man to make a witnessed descent with a parachute and is credited with coining the term 'parachute', meaning a device 'against a fall'. After the demonstration he devoted himself to establishing the science of 'pure technology'; he was later succeeded by André-Jacques Garnerin, who used a non-rigid parachute in 1797.