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The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
Annonay in Ardèche, France. They invented the ''Montgolfière''-style
hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries ...
, globe aérostatique, which launched the first confirmed piloted ascent by humans in 1783, carrying Jacques-Étienne. Joseph-Michel also invented the self-acting
hydraulic ram A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device uses the water hammer ef ...
(1796) and Jacques-Étienne founded the first paper-making vocational school. Together, the brothers invented a process to manufacture transparent paper.


Early years

Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were born into a family of paper manufacturers. Their parents were Pierre Montgolfier (1700–1793) and Anne Duret (1701–1760), who had 16 children. Pierre Montgolfier established his eldest son, Raymond (1730–1772), as his successor. Joseph-Michel was the 12th child. Described as a maverick and dreamer, he was impractical in terms of business and personal affairs. Étienne was the 15th child, had a much more even and businesslike temperament and was sent to Paris to train as an architect. After the sudden and unexpected death of Raymond in 1772, he was recalled to Annonay to run the family business. In the subsequent 10 years, Étienne applied his talent for technical innovation to the family business of paper making, which then as now was a high-tech industry. He succeeded in incorporating the latest Dutch innovations of the day into the family mills.


Hot air balloon experiments, 1782–84


Hot air balloon experiments, 1782

Of the two brothers, it was Joseph who was first interested in aeronautics; as early as 1775 he built parachutes, and once jumped from the family house. He first contemplated building machines when he observed laundry drying over a fire incidentally form pockets that billowed upwards. Joseph made his first definitive experiments in November 1782 while living in
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
. He reported some years later that he was watching a fire one evening while contemplating one of the great military issues of the day—an assault on the fortress of
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
, which had proved impregnable from both sea and land. Joseph mused on the possibility of an air assault using troops lifted by the same force that was lifting the embers from the fire. He believed that the smoke itself was the buoyant part and contained within it a special gas, which he called "Montgolfier Gas", with a special property he called levity, which is why he preferred smoldering fuel. Joseph then built a box-like chamber 1×1×1.3 m (3 ft by by 4 ft) out of very thin wood, and covered the sides and top with lightweight
taffeta Taffeta (archaically spelled taffety or taffata) is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk, cuprammonium rayons, acetate, and polyester. The word is Persian (تافته) in origin and means "twisted woven". As clothing, it is used in ...
cloth. He crumpled and lit some paper under the bottom of the box. The contraption quickly lifted off its stand and collided with the ceiling. Joseph recruited his brother to balloon building by writing, "Get in a supply of taffeta and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world." The two brothers built a similar device, scaled up by three (so 27 times greater in volume). On 14 December 1782 they did their very first test flight, lighting with wool and hay, and the lifting force was so great, that they lost control of their craft. The device floated nearly two kilometers (about 1.2 mi) and was destroyed after landing by the "indiscretion" of passersby.


Public demonstrations, summer 1783

To make a public demonstration and to claim its invention the brothers constructed a globe-shaped balloon of
sackcloth Sackcloth ( ''śaq'') is a coarsely woven fabric, usually made of goat's hair. The term in English often connotes the biblical usage, where the '' Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible'' remarks that haircloth would be more appropriate rendering of th ...
tightened with three thin layers of paper inside. The envelope could contain nearly 790 m³ (28,000 cubic feet) of air and weighed 225 kg (500 lb). It was constructed of four pieces (the dome and three lateral bands) and held together by 1,800 buttons. A reinforcing fish net of cord covered the outside of the envelope. On 4 June 1783, they flew the balloon at Annonay in front of a group of dignitaries from the '' états ″particuliers″''. The flight covered 2 km (1.2 mi), lasted 10 minutes, and had an estimated altitude of 1,600–2,000 m (5,200–6,600 ft). Word of their success quickly reached Paris. Étienne went to the capital to make further demonstrations and to solidify the brothers' claim to the invention of flight. Joseph, given his unkempt appearance and shyness, remained with the family. Étienne was ''the epitome of sober virtues ... modest in clothes and manner...'' In collaboration with the wallpaper manufacturer
Jean-Baptiste Réveillon Jean-Baptiste Réveillon (1725–1811) was a French wallpaper manufacturer. In 1789 Réveillon made a statement on the price of bread that was misinterpreted by the Parisian populace as advocating lower wages. He fled France after his home and his w ...
, Étienne constructed a envelope of taffeta coated with a varnish of
alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...
for fireproofing. The balloon was sky blue and decorated with golden flourishes, signs of the
zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
, and suns. The design showed the intervention of Réveillon. The next test was on 11 September from the grounds of ''la
Folie Titon __NOTOC__ Folie or Folies may refer to: Places * Condé-Folie, commune in the Picardie region of France * Fains-la-Folie, commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in north-central France * Folies, commune in the Somme département in the Picardie reg ...
'', close to Réveillon's house. There was some concern about the effects of flight into the upper atmosphere on living creatures. The king proposed to launch two convicted criminals, but it is most likely that the inventors decided to send a sheep, a duck, and a rooster aloft first. On 19 September 1783, the ''Aérostat Réveillon'' was flown with the first living beings in a basket attached to the balloon: a sheep called Montauciel ("Climb-to-the-sky"), a duck and a rooster. The sheep was believed to have a reasonable approximation of human physiology. The duck was expected to be unharmed by being lifted and was included as a control for effects created by the aircraft rather than the altitude. The rooster was included as a further control as it was a bird that did not fly at high altitudes. The demonstration was performed at the royal palace in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
, before King
Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
and Queen
Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
and a crowd. The flight lasted approximately eight minutes, covered two miles (3 km), and obtained an altitude of about . The craft landed safely after flying.


Piloted flight, autumn 1783

Since the animals survived, the king allowed flights with humans. Again in collaboration with Réveillon, Étienne built a balloon for the purpose of making flights with humans. It was about 23 m (75 feet) tall and about 15 m (50 feet) in diameter. Réveillon supplied rich decorative touches of gold figures on a deep blue background, including fleur-de-lis, signs of the zodiac, and suns with Louis XVI's face in the center interlaced with the royal monogram in the central section. Red and blue drapery and golden eagles were at the base of the balloon. Étienne Montgolfier was the first human to lift off the Earth in a balloon, making a tethered test flight from the yard of the Réveillon workshop in the
Faubourg Saint-Antoine The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France. It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Location The Faubourg Saint-An ...
, most likely on 15 October 1783. A little while later on that same day, physicist Pilâtre de Rozier became the second to ascend into the air, to an altitude of , which was the length of the tether. On 21 November 1783, the first free flight by humans was made by Pilâtre de Rozier, together with an army officer, the
marquis d'Arlandes A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...
. The flight began from the grounds of the
Château de la Muette The Château de la Muette () is a château located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, near the Porte de la Muette. Three châteaux have been located on the site since a hunting lodge was transformed into the first château for ...
close to the
Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...
park in the western outskirts of Paris. They flew about above
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
for a distance of nine kilometers. After 25 minutes, the balloon landed between the windmills, outside the city ramparts, on the
Butte-aux-Cailles The Butte-aux-Cailles (; a name that could be translated into "quail hill", although it originates from its former landowner Pierre Caille, who bought a vineyard here in 1543) is a hilltop neighbourhood of Paris, France France (), offi ...
. Enough fuel remained on board at the end of the flight to have allowed the balloon to fly four to five times as far. However, burning embers from the fire were scorching the balloon fabric and had to be daubed out with sponges. As it appeared it could destroy the balloon, Pilâtre took off his coat to stop the fire. The early flights made a sensation. Numerous engravings commemorated the events. Chairs were designed with balloon backs, and mantel clocks were produced in enamel and gilt-bronze replicas set with a dial in the balloon. One could buy crockery decorated with naive pictures of balloons. In December 1783, father Pierre Montgolfier was elevated to the nobility and the hereditary appellation of de Montgolfier by King
Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
.


Other balloons, competing claims

Some claim that the hot air balloon was invented about 74 years earlier by the Brazilian/Portuguese priest
Bartolomeu de Gusmão Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (December 1685 – 18 November 1724) was a Brazilian-born Portuguese priest and naturalist, who was a pioneer of lighter-than-air airship design. Early life Gusmão was born at Santos, then part of the Portugue ...
. A description of his invention was published in 1709(?) in Vienna, and another one was found in the Vatican in about 1917. However, this claim is not generally recognized by aviation historians outside the Portuguese-speaking community, in particular the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
. On 1 December 1783, a few months after the Montgolfiers' first flight, Jacques Alexandre César Charles rose to an altitude of about near Paris in a hydrogen-filled balloon he had developed. In early 1784, the Flesselles balloon, named after the unfortunate
Jacques de Flesselles Jacques de Flesselles (; 11 November 173014 July 1789) was a French official and one of the early victims of the French Revolution. Early life Jacques de Flesselles was born in Paris in 1730 of a family of middle-class origins, which had recently ...
, later to be an early casualty at the Bastille, gave a rough landing to its passengers. In June 1784, the ''Gustave'' (a hot air balloon christened ''La Gustave'' in honour of King
Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
of Sweden's visit to Lyon) saw the first female aeronaut,
Élisabeth Thible Élisabeth Thible, or Elizabeth Tible (, 8 March 1757 – after 1784) was a French aviator who was the first woman on record to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. She was born in Lyon on 8 March 1757. On 4 June 1784, eight months after the fir ...
.


Other Montgolfier inventions

Both brothers invented a process to manufacture transparent paper looking like
vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...
, reproducing the technique of the English, followed by the papermakers Johannot and
Réveillon A ''réveillon'' () is a long dinner held in the evening preceding Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Its name descends from the word ''réveil'' (meaning "waking"), because participation involves staying awake until morning, as the meal finishes ...
. In 1796, Joseph Michel Montgolfier invented the first self-acting
hydraulic ram A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and lower flow rate. The device uses the water hammer ef ...
, a water pump to raise water for his paper mill at
Voiron Voiron (; frp, Vouèron) is a commune (French municipality) in the ninth district of the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron ...
. In 1772, the British clockmaker
John Whitehurst John Whitehurst FRS (10 April 1713 – 18 February 1788), born in Cheshire, England, was a clockmaker and scientist, and made significant early contributions to geology. He was an influential member of the Lunar Society. Life and work Whi ...
had invented its precursor, the "pulsation engine". In 1797, Montgolfier's friend
Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engin ...
took out a British patent on his behalf. In 1816, Joseph Michel's sons obtained a British patent for an improved version of the pump.


Death, the Montgolfier company

Both brothers were freemasons in Les Neuf Soeurs lodge in Paris. In 1799, Etienne de Montgolfier died on the way from Lyon to Annonay. His son-in-law, Barthélémy Barou de la Lombardière de Canson (1774–1859), succeeded him as the head of the company, thanks to his marriage with Alexandrine de Montgolfier. The company became " Montgolfier et Canson" in 1801, then "Canson-Montgolfier" in 1807. In 1810, Joseph-Michel died in Balaruc-les-Bains. The Montgolfier Company in Annonay still exists under the name Canson. It produces fine art papers, school drawing papers and digital fine art and photography papers sold in 150 countries.Our Values
Canson, n.d., 2 July 2017
In 1983, the Montgolfier brothers were inducted into the
International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Sin ...
at the
San Diego Air & Space Museum San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
.Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. .


See also

*
History of aviation The history of aviation extends for more than two thousand years, from the earliest forms of aviation such as kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered, heavier-than-air jets. Kite flying in Chi ...
*
List of firsts in aviation This is a list of firsts in aviation. For a comprehensive list of women's records, see Women in aviation. First person to fly The first flight (including gliding) by a person is unknown. Several have been suggested. * In 559 A.D., several pri ...
* Wright brothers


References


External links


"Lighter than air: the Montgolfier brothers"
* * {{worldcat id, lccn-n82-164065, Jacques-Etienne – that is, works catalogued as by or about Joseph or Etienne, respectively French balloonists 18th-century French businesspeople Sibling duos People of the Industrial Revolution Aviation inventors 18th-century French inventors Aviation pioneers Papermakers People from Ardèche Aviation history of France Members of the French Academy of Sciences 18th-century aviation Les Neuf Sœurs French Freemasons