The French inventors and industrialists Joseph Michel (1740-1810) and Jacques Étienne (1745-1799) Montgolfier were brothers who invented the hot-air balloon, an important step in the development of aeronautics. Both Montgolfier brothers were...

The sons of a successful paper manufacturer, the Montgolfier brothers were skillful mathematicians and avid experimenters (Joseph Montgolfier constructed a parachute in 1799 that successfully carried a sheep to safety). They read extensively, becoming...

1745-1799 French Aeronautic Inventor 1740-1810 French Aeronautic Inventor The Montgolfier brothers were eighteenth-century French businessmen who enjoyed conducting scientific experiments in their spare time. Becoming interested in the age-old dream of...

The brothers, Joseph Michel Montgolfier (26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) were the inventors of the montgolfière, globe airostatique or European hot air balloon. The brothers succeeded...

Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier lived more than two hundred years ago in France. Their fascination with hot-air balloons began with small toy balloons made of paper. Inside the balloons were little candles, and when they lit the candles the balloons would float...

Have you heard the expression, "When pigs fly?" It is sometimes used as a colorful way of saying, "Never." As far as anyone knows, no pig has ever flown, and none is likely to ever fly. In September of 1783, however, a...

Today is Monday, June 4, the 155th day of 2007. There are 210 days left in the year.Today's highlight in history:On June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway began during World War II.On this date:In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their hot-air balloon,...