On this day, 22nd October: First Person to Jump with a Parachute - 1797

André-Jacques Garnerin's parachute jump on October 22, 1797, was a groundbreaking event in the history of aviation. Garnerin, a skilled balloonist, ascended in a hydrogen balloon to about 3,200 feet before descending with his parachute, which was an early design lacking a rigid frame. This remarkable feat demonstrated the principles of parachuting and laid the groundwork for future developments in parachute technology.

Garnerin conducted many subsequent jumps and became a celebrated figure, inspiring countless others in the field of aviation and skydiving. His contributions are recognized as a significant step toward modern aviation safety.

Garnerin, a French balloonist and inventor, jumped from a hot air balloon carrying a gondola and a 7-meter-wide frameless parachute. He rose to 3,000 feet, then cut the cord that attached him to the balloon and fell. He landed safely, though the parachute's pendulum effect made for a heavy landing.

Garnerin invented the vented parachute, which improved the stability of the fall. Garnerin is said to have first come up with the idea for a parachute while imprisoned in Hungary during the French Revolution. The idea may have come from an old Chinese story about an emperor who used a makeshift parachute to escape from a burning building. 

Garnerin went on to make 200 parachute jumps, including one from 8,000 feet in England. His wife, Jeanne-Geneviève, became the first female parachutist.