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Storiascopio · Era 10 of 12 · lower secondary year 2

The first hot-air balloon flight

1783 · Paris, France

Illustration: The first hot-air balloon flight

In short

The brothers Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier, who made paper in Annonay, in France, noticed that hot air made light bags rise. They built a large balloon of cloth and paper, heated by a fire lit under the opening. On 21 November 1783 two men, Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes, flew over Paris for about 25 minutes. It was the first time human beings had travelled freely through the air.

Why it matters It made an ancient human dream come true and began the history of flight.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Montgolfier brothers”

Where we are in the era “Age of revolutions”

Your turn

Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________

  1. When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:

  2. Tell it in your own words: what happened?

  3. Draw the scene below.

storiascopio.com/en/event/the-first-hot-air-balloon-flight/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class