2-489-495 - © Fine Art Images/Heritage Images

Death of Pilâtre de Rozier and Romain, 1785 (1890s). In November 1783, French scientist and aeronaut Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (1754-1785) and François Laurent d'Arlandes (1742-1809) made the first successful manned untethered balloon flight. Two years later, Pilâtre de Rozier and Pierre Romain became the victims of the world's first fatal air crash. While attempting to fly across the English Channel their balloon rapidly deflated in mid-air and crashed to the ground. From the series The Dream of Flight. From a private collection.