††††The principle of hot air balloons had been known for a while before the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne, made the first successful balloon flight.
On 5th June, 1783 the Montgolfier brothers first demonstrated their hot-air balloon at Annonay. They had experimented with small paper balloons, before developing a fabric balloon lined with paper (33 metres in diameter). The first passengers were farm animals, but on 21st November Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois Laurent became the first people to fly. Pilatre de Rozier later became one of the first casualties of flight in 1785.
Today, hot air ballooning is a popular leisure activity.
