1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 1: a show that shines a light on the ups and 4 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: downs of everyday history. I'm Gay Blusier, and today we're 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: looking at the story of a daring aeronaut who turned 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: an idle day dream into a life saving invention. The 7 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: day was October. French balloonist Andre Jacques Garnerin descended thirty 8 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: two hundred feet through the skies of Paris, becoming the 9 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,640 Speaker 1: first person to float safely to the ground using a 10 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: frameless parachute. The fact that it was frameless is an 11 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: important distinction. Fourteen years before Garnerin made his historic descent, 12 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: an inventor named Louis Sebastian Lenormant seemingly beat him to 13 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: the punch by making the first recorded jump with a parachute. 14 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: The thing is, it wasn't much of a parachute, and 15 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,400 Speaker 1: it wasn't much of a jump either. The shoot he 16 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: used had a rigid frame that made it more like 17 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: an umbrella than what we would think of as a parachute. Also, 18 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: Lenormand didn't design his prototype to work at high altitudes, 19 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: so instead of jumping out of a balloon like Gardneran did. 20 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: He just jumped out of a tree, So Lenormand technically 21 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: gets the record, but it comes with a big old asterisk. 22 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: Of course, neither of these men was the first to 23 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: think of using air resistance to slow a fall from 24 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: a great height. Hundreds of years earlier, Leonardo da Vinci 25 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,919 Speaker 1: conceived of quote a tent of linen which a person 26 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: could use to throw himself down from any high eight 27 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: without suffering an injury. But while da Vinci didn't get 28 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 1: past the planning phase and lenor Man only got as 29 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: high as a tree, Gardnern followed his dream of parachuting 30 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: all the way to fruition. The first time he thought 31 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: of making a parachute was during the French Revolution, when 32 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: he was captured by British forces and held as a 33 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: prisoner of war for three years. At a certain point 34 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,119 Speaker 1: in his captivity, Garnerin began dreaming about using a parachute 35 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: to escape by jumping off the high walls of his prison. 36 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: In the end, he wound up being released before he 37 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: could put his plan to action, but the idea stayed 38 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: with him, and once he was out of prison, he 39 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: began experimenting with designs for a new kind of parachute, 40 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: one without a frame. In seventeen seven, when he was 41 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: twenty eight years old, Garnerin felt ready to try his 42 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,359 Speaker 1: first descent. The attempt was set to take place at 43 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: Parc Monsu in Paris, and a sizeable crowd gathered to 44 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: watch the daring feet. Garnerin's new parachute consisted of a 45 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:15,679 Speaker 1: silk canopy twenty three ft in diameter, which was attached 46 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: to a basket or gondola by a series of suspension lines. 47 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: There was also a long, hollow pole running down through 48 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: the center of the chute and into the basket. A 49 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: rope running through the pole connected the parachute to a 50 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: large hydrogen balloon, which would lift the whole apparatus to 51 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: an altitude of thirty two hundred feet. Gardnern sat in 52 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: the basket attached to the parachute during the ascent, then 53 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: when he reached the desired height, he cut the rope 54 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: running through the pole, and the parachute separated from the 55 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: balloon and floated to the ground. The test was successful, 56 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: but it was a rough ride for Garnerin. He hadn't 57 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: thought to include an air it at the top of 58 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: his design, so once the parachute opened, he and his 59 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: basket began to swing wildly. Garnerin ultimately landed about half 60 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: a mile from the takeoff site, having veered off course 61 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: due to the oscillations. He was a little air sick, 62 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: but otherwise unharmed. He made several more descents over the 63 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: next few years, each time with similar stomach churning results. Finally, 64 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: in eighteen o two, a famous astronomer and friend of 65 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: Garnerin named Jerome de la Land hit upon a way 66 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: to fix the instability. He realized that air had been 67 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: spilling out all around the bottom rim of the canopy, 68 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: which caused the shoote to spin uncontrollably. He suggested that 69 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: Garnerin cut a hole in the center of the parachute 70 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: so that the air could escape cleanly in one direction. 71 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: This resolved the problem immediately, and the modern parachute was born. 72 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: Garnerin's descents made him a household name, and he was 73 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:08,799 Speaker 1: soon appointed an official aeronaut of France. But fame wasn't 74 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: the only thing to come from his career. He met 75 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: his future wife, Jean Genevieve, at his first descent, and 76 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,720 Speaker 1: she later became the first female parachutist. The couple even 77 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 1: made a number of demonstration flights and jumps together. All told, 78 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: Garnerin made around two hundred jumps in his lifetime, including 79 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: a record setting plunge in London, when he descended from 80 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 1: eighty two hundred feet, more than double the height of 81 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: his first jump. As someone who spent most of their 82 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: life falling out of the sky, you might expect that's 83 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: how Garnerin met his end too. However, his death had 84 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,600 Speaker 1: nothing to do with a parachute malfunction or a deadly fall. Instead, 85 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: on August eighteenth, eighteen twenty three, Garnerin died with both 86 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: feet on the ground. While ready his balloon for takeoff. 87 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: A strong gust of wind knocked a heavy piece of 88 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: rigging against Garnerin's head, landing of fatal blow. It was 89 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: a sad end for the gutsy inventor, but he left 90 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: an impressive legacy. His parachute designs made it possible to 91 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: jump from greater heights than ever before, and with better 92 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: control during the descent than anyone had dreamed of before. 93 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: While further improvements have been made through the years, the 94 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: basic principles of his design have remained, allowing just about 95 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:37,480 Speaker 1: anyone to experience the thrill of parachuting and to live 96 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: to tell the tale. I'm Gabe Louzier and hopefully you 97 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you 98 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: did yesterday. You can learn even more about history by 99 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d 100 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: I HC Show, and if you have any suggestions or feedback, 101 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 1: you can also write to us at this day at 102 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: I heart media dot com. Thanks the Chandler Mays for 103 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,279 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 104 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another Day in History class. 105 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I 106 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 107 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.