Montgolfier brothers biography definition

Montgolfier Brothers, namely Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (1740 - 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (1745 - 1799) were the inventors of the first hot air balloon that safely carried people into the sky and back to earth.

They were children of Pierre Montgolfier, paper manufacturer in Annonay, France, and Anne Duret who had sixteen children.

Montgolfier brothers biography definition

Joseph was the 12th child while Étienne was the 15th. Joseph was a dreamer, and impractical in terms of business and personal affairs - real features of an inventor. His brother, on the other hand, Étienne had more of a knack for business but because he was a trouble to his elder siblings, he was sent to Paris to train as an architect.

When their father died in 1772, Étienne was recalled to Annonay to run the family business which he improved in the next 10 years.

In the 1777 Joseph was inspired by laundry drying over a fire that formed pockets of hot air and raised laundry up