Fanciful depiction of the landing of Etienne Montgolfier's balloon near a cottage at Vaucresson after an eight mile flight from Paris, September 19, 1783, carrying three animals in a basket. The cock, the sheep, and the duck are seen on the ground; the balloon and the animals are being observed by astonished and frightened country people. Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (August 26, 1740 - June 26, 1810) and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier (January 6, 1745 - August 2, 1799) were the inventors of the Montgolfiere-style hot air balloon, globe aerostatique. It was Joseph who first contemplated building machines when he observed laundry drying over a fire incidentally form pockets that billowed upwards. He made his first definitive experiments in 1782. The brothers decided to make a public demonstration of a balloon in order to establish their claim to its invention. On June 4, 1783, they flew their craft in front of a group of dignitaries. Its flight covered |