November 21

On the 21st in 1783, in Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (pictured) and François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes made the first ascent in an un-tethered hot air balloon. On June 15, 1785, de Rozier and Pierre Romain, his traveling partner at the time, would die when the hot air balloon the pair was traveling in crashed as they attempted to cross the English Channel. I guess de Rozier and d’Arlandes had decided they just had to get out of France even if it killed both of them, which is a feeling shared by many people who have had to go to there. Apparently, being home to more than 400 kinds of cheese is not a sufficient reason to remain in France for any extended period.