Pilâtre de Rozier, Jean-François, << pee laht ruh duh roh zyay, zhahn frahn swah >> (1754-1785), a French scientist and aviation pioneer, was one of the first two people to fly in a balloon. A French army officer, François Laurent the Marquis d’Arlandes, joined him on this flight on Nov. 21, 1783. The two men flew in a balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers, the inventors of the hot air balloon. See Montgolfier brothers .
Pilâtre de Rozier was born on March 30, 1754, in Metz, France. In 1781, he founded an institution for the study of scientific subjects. Shortly afterward, he met the Montgolfier brothers and another French inventor, Jacques Charles. Charles invented the hydrogen balloon. At the time, King Louis XVI was planning to order criminals to make the first balloon flight, believing that the journey would end in death. Pilâtre de Rozier convinced the French court that men of higher status should make the historic flight. Pilâtre de Rozier also made several tethered flights, with the balloon tied to the ground. These flights showed that balloon flight was not physically harmful to the human body.
On their history-making flight, Pilâtre de Rozier and Laurent flew a decorated balloon about 5 miles (8 kilometers) over 25 minutes, drifting above Paris. They landed outside the city, unharmed.
On June 15, 1785, Pilâtre de Rozier attempted to cross the English Channel in a two-part balloon. The top part was a hydrogen gas balloon, and the bottom part was a hot air balloon. The balloon caught fire and crashed, killing both Pilâtre de Rozier and his passenger, Pierre Romain. They were the first people killed in a balloon flight.
