The first manned flight in an un-tethered hot-air balloon took place in Paris on this day in 1783.
On November 21, 1783, physicist Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier, along with the Marquis d'Arlandes, became the first humans to fly. Their flight, in a hot air balloon designed by brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, was witnessed by thousands in Paris, including the royal family and Benjamin Franklin, and soon inspired a ballooning craze.
Wikipedia: First manned flight
King Louis XVI had proposed sending condemned criminals on that dangerous first flight, but was persuaded otherwise.
APS Physics: Today in Physics History
On November 21, 1783, the balloon was ready for the first human passengers. Although King Louis XVI said he wanted to send prisoners on this potentially dangerous experiment, physicist Pilatre de Rozier volunteered for the honor of being the first to fly in an untethered hot air balloon.
He and the Marquis d’Arlandes, who bravely agreed to accompany him, lifted off from the center of Paris, rose to a height of about 3000 feet, and drifted for about 25 minutes before landing in the outskirts of the city, about five miles from where they began.
These early balloon flights were witnessed by Benjamin Franklin, who was in Paris at the time as ambassador to France. Franklin, intrigued by the idea of flight, predicted that hot air balloons would soon be used in the military for spying. Franklin died before being able to take a balloon ride himself.
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