2-489-492 - © Fine Art Images/Heritage Images

First aerial voyage by Charles and Robert, Paris, France, 1783 (1890s). On 1 December 1783, French aeronauts Jacques Charles (1746-1823) and Noel Robert made the first manned (free flight) ascent in a hydrogen balloon, designed by Charles, a physics professor, and constructed by Robert and his brother Jean. It took off from the Jardin des Tuileries in front of a crowd said to have numbered 400,000, landing two hours later at Nesle-la-Vallee, over 27 miles away. Robert alighted there but Charles re-ascended in the balloon, reaching an altitude of over 9000 feet. From the series The Dream of Flight. From a private collection.