Andre Jacques Garnerin

Andre Jacques Garnerin (b. Paris, France, January 31, 1769 – d. Paris, France, August 18, 1823) was a balloonist and French paratrooper.

On October 22, 1797, he achieved what was arguably the first of many exhibition parachute jumps from a hydrogen balloon at 350 meters elevation. His first jump was made at Paris, France, with thousands of people watching in the Parc Monceau. The Garnerin parachute was made of silk and had a landing gear which made it look like a huge, strengthened umbrella.

Standing in a basket at the far post, the Garnerin parachute oscillated wildly (being tossed from side to side) because the parachute did not have air vents, and air had to escape on one side and then the other. In 1804, astronomer Jerome Lalande, who had witnessed the experiments of Garnerin, managed to reduce the oscillations via a valve at the top opening.

Andre Jacques Garnerin is considered the first true skydiver, having made numerous jumps, including one of 8,000 feet (about 2430 meters) in London with a silk bell parachute around seven meters in diameter. His wife, Genevieve Labrosee, was the first woman to parachute jump, in 1798. His niece, Elisa, jumped forty times between 1815 and 1836.

He died on August 18, 1823, after being hit in the head by a beam while making preparations for a dirigible balloon flight.