OurBiography

Jean-Pierre-François Blanchard was not only the first person to use a parachute correctly, he was the first to cross the English Channel by balloon and made the first U.S. balloon flight.

Synopsis

Jean-Pierre-François Blanchard was born on July 4, 1753, in Les Andelys, France. He went on his first balloon flight, in Paris, in March of 1784. In 1785 he and Dr. John Jeffries traveled via balloon from England to France. They were the first to cross the English Channel by air. In 1793 Blanchard made the first U.S. balloon flight, from Philadelphia. He died on March 7, 1809, in The Hague, Netherlands.