Notable balloon flights

date balloonists description

Aug. 8, 1709 Bartholomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (Brazil) first model balloon flight

June 5, 1783 Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (France) first demonstration flight of hot-air balloon

Aug. 27, 1783 Jacques-Alexandre-César Charles (France) first demonstration flight of gas balloon

Nov. 21, 1783 Jean Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent (France) first manned flight (hot-air)

Dec. 1, 1783 Jacques-Alexandre-César Charles and Marie-Noël Robert (France) first manned flight in gas balloon

Dec. 1, 1783 Jacques-Alexandre-César Charles first solo flight

June 23, 1784 Jean Pilâtre de Rozier and L.J. Proust (France) first flight to exceed 50 km (31 miles)

Sept. 19, 1784 Marie-Noël Robert and Anne-Jean Robert (France) first flight to exceed 100 km; 186 km (116 miles)

Jan. 7, 1785 Jean-Pierre Blanchard (France) and John Jeffries (U.S.) first flight across the English Channel

June 15, 1785 Jean Pilâtre de Rozier and Pierre-Jules Romain (France) first balloonist fatalities

Aug. 26, 1785 Jean-Pierre Blanchard and Chevalier de Lepinard (France) first flight to exceed 200 km (124 miles)

June 2, 1794 Jean-Marie-Joseph Coutelle (France) first use of a balloon (tethered) for military observations

Oct. 22, 1797 André-Jacques Garnerin (France) first parachute descent from a balloon

Oct. 4, 1803 André-Jacques Garnerin and M. Aubert (France) first flight to exceed 300 km (186 miles)

April 8, 1835 Richard Clayton (U.S.) first flight to exceed 500 km (311 miles)

Nov. 7, 1836 Charles Green (U.K.) flight from London to Germany; about 800 km (500 miles)

Sept. 2, 1849 François Arban (France) first flight over the Alps

July 1, 1859 John Wise and John LaMountain (U.S.) flight from St. Louis to Henderson, N.Y.; about 1,300 km (800 miles)

Sept. 23, 1870 Claude-Jules Durouf (France) first balloon to carry mail out during the Siege of Paris

Oct. 29, 1912 Alfred Leblanc (France) first flight to exceed 2,000 km (1,243 miles)

Feb. 10, 1914 Hans Rudolf Berliner, Alexander Haase, and A. Nicolai (Ger.) first flight to exceed 3,000 km (1,864 miles)

April 13, 1963 Edward Yost and Donald Piccard (U.S.) first flight over English Channel in hot-air balloon

Aug. 12–17, 1978 Ben L. Abruzzo, Maxie Leroy Anderson, and Larry M. Newman (U.S.) first transatlantic flight; 5,001 km (3,107 miles)

Nov. 10–12, 1981 Ben L. Abruzzo, Larry M. Newman, Rocky Aoki, and Ron Clark (U.S.) first transpacific flight; 8,383 km (5,209 miles)

Sept. 15–18, 1984 Joseph W. Kittinger (U.S.) first solo transatlantic flight

July 2–3, 1987 Per Axel Lindstrand (Swed.) and Richard Branson (U.K.) first transatlantic flight in hot-air balloon

Jan.16–17, 1991 Per Axel Lindstrand and Richard Branson first transpacific flight in hot-air balloon

Feb. 17–21, 1995 Steve Fossett (U.S.) first solo transpacific flight

March 3–21, 1999 Bertrand Piccard (Switz.) and Brian Jones (U.K.) first around-the-world flight

June 19–July 3, 2002 Steve Fossett first solo around-the-world flight