November 21

On the 21st in 1783, in Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier[i] and François Laurent, Marquis d'Arlandes made the first ascent in an untethered hot air balloon[ii]. de Rozier and Pierre Romain, his traveling partner, would die on June 15, 1785 when their hot air balloon[iii] crashed while attempting to cross the English Channel. I guess he had decided that he had to get out of France even if it killed him, which is a feeling shared by many people who have had to go to there.

[i] When not flying, Pilâtre de Rozier was a chemistry and physics teacher. In June of 1783, he had witnessed the first balloon ascent by the Montgolfier brothers.
[ii] King Louis XVI was present at the balloon’s first ascent.
[iii] The air that carried the balloon aloft was heated by a wood stove, the fire being fed by wood and brandy