André-Jacques Garnerin

André-Jacques Garnerin (January 31 1769 - August 18 1823) was the inventor of the frameless parachute. He was born in Paris. His early experiments were based on umbrella-shaped devices. He was captured by British troops during the first phase of the Napoleonic Wars 1792 - 1797, turned over to the Austrians and held a prisoner in Buda in Hungary for three years. After his release, Garnerin was involved with the flight of hot air balloons. He carried out the first jump with a Silk parachute on October 22 1797, jumping out of a balloon over Parc Monceau, Paris. After a descent of 3000 feet, he landed without injury in front of an admiring crowd. On October 3-4 1803, he covered a distance of 395 km between Paris and Clausen with his balloon.
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