On October 22, 1797, the Frenchman André-Jacques Garnerin unfastened the basket of his hot air balloon at an altitude of 2,231 ft. No, it wasn’t a suicide attempt. This was a test of a prototype of the parachute — the first in the world, and Garnerin himself became the first parachutist in history.

The French daredevil was a big fan of balloons. Therefore, it is not surprising that he also thought about parachutes — aeronautics was an extremely dangerous occupation. The invention did not save Garnerin’s life, though — he died in a construction accident in 1823 when he was hit by a wooden beam while making another one of his balloons.