Montgolfier, Joseph Michel

Montgolfier, Joseph Michel zhäk ātyĕnˈ [key], 1745–99, French inventors, brothers. Together they invented the first practical balloon. On June 5, 1783, they sent up at Annonay, near Lyons, a large linen bag inflated with hot air; its flight covered more than a mile and lasted 10 min. In the same year a Montgolfier balloon sailed over Paris in the first manned free balloon flight.

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