Origins of Skydiving...useless info for we who work saturdays

[skygal3 0]

Although my limited ability to read and understand the French language has made it a little more difficult for me to do my research, I believe the following account to be a true and accurate description of the circumstances surrounding the first parachute jump ever made.
It was during the time of the first hot air balloons. A man named Andre-Jacques GARNERIN lived in France and made his living traveling around the countryside doing exhibitions with various fairs. Everyone in his family was involved with his love for aviation, especially his wife Genevieve LABROSSE, and his niece, Elisa, who were the first two women to jump. Genevieve jumped in 1798 and Elisa followed her soon thereafter. Elisa went on to make forty jumps between 1815 and 1836.
Before GARNERIN's jump in 1797, a man in London named J. P. BLANCHARD threw a dog out of a balloon with a parachute. I found no further text which addresses the health of this poor animal after the jump, so I might assume he did not survive. The parachute used for the dog was described as conical in shape and probably too small. (like a windsock, maybe?) Also before GARNERIN's jump, there was a guy who jumped from the second floor of a building with an umbrella, but this wasn't taken seriously as a parachute jump.
Our man, Andre-Jacques, had been experiencing a little trouble with the law during his traveling show. It seems that he was somewhat of a swindler and he had developed a nasty habit of charging people money to see his balloon fly, and then unable to get the thing off the ground. One spectator complained of his swindling, probably because of his inability to get it up (the balloon), and he was arrested and freed under bond to either perform his promised balloon ascent and parachute jump, or go straight back to jail. He now had a very real psychological incentive to succeed, or else be ruined and returned to jail.
When he arrived at the takeoff site, everything was already prepared for his show. The takeoff location was in the Park Monceau. The date was October 22, 1797. The takeoff was at 5:28 PM and the balloon (aerostat)rose rapidly to an altitude of 700 meters. The balloon exploded and Andre-Jacques had to cut the rope sooner than he had planned. There was a crowd of people gathered to witness the event, and many of them turned their heads away when they saw the explosion, fearing it was the end of our friend GARNERIN. But, voila, here comes our hero under his homemade parachute, 10 meters in diameter, with a reported 30 square meters of canopy fabric and 36 suspension lines. There was no vent in the center of the top of the canopy, so his oscillations were horrible. The canopy ride was quite unstable as air spilled uncontrollably around the skirt of the canopy. It was not until 1802 that his friend named LALANDE suggested he leave a hole at the apex. His uncontrolled landing occurred in the Plaine Monceau, about 1 kilometer North of the park, and he quickly got a ride back to his point of departure.
When I visited the park a few years ago, there were nicely detailed flowers and water gardens, but it would be impossible to put a parachute into the park nowadays because of the trees and foliage. The only evidence that I had actually found the exact spot of this jump was a very small plaque located down one of the tiny alleyways of the park. The old plaque contained the obliterated name GARNERIN, and claimed to be the exact spot where the GARNERIN took off.
At the time of the jump, the park was located outside the city of Paris in the countryside. The city has since grown to engulf the park which can be found in the 17th arrondissement of Paris (Northwest), at one limeter from the Champs Elysees.
It might be important to note that the first parachute jumps were made in small detachable gondolas. GARNERIN also made parachute jumps in 1798 in the Jardin Tivoli in Paris, and on September 23, 1800 on the Champs de Mars, where the Eiffel Tower now stands. For the latter jump, which was sponsored by the government as a military demonstration, GARNERIN was compensated by the gift of a golden gun and a letter from a minister. He also made a demo into Grosvenor Square in London on September 21, 1802.
GARNERIN was killed by a blow from some wooden rigging of his balloon as he was preparing for a takeoff on August 18, 1823.