INVENTOR

Jean-Pierre Blanchard

1753 - 1809

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Jean-Pierre [François] Blanchard (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ pjɛʁ blɑ̃ʃaʁ]; 4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon. Notable for his successful hydrogen balloon flight in Paris on 2 March 1784, Blanchard later moved to London and undertook flights with varying propulsion mechanisms. His historic achievement came on 7 January 1785, crossing the English Channel from Dover Castle to Guînes in about 2½ hours, receiving acclaim from Louis XVI and earning a substantial pension. Touring Europe, Blanchard demonstrated his balloons and showcased the modern parachute, which he later used for a successful escape in 1793 when his hydrogen balloon ruptured. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Jean-Pierre Blanchard is the 140th most popular inventor, the 1,701st most popular biography from France (up from 1,772nd in 2019) and the 20th most popular French Inventor.

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Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Jean-Pierre Blanchard ranks 140 out of 426. Before him are Elisha Gray, Josef Ressel, Hugo Schmeisser, Zénobe Gramme, Elias Howe, and Mary the Jewess. After him are Taiichi Ohno, Louis Le Prince, Cornelis Drebbel, John Kay, Robert Stirling, and Peter Cooper.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1753, Jean-Pierre Blanchard ranks 16. Before him are Utamaro, Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, Franz Karl Achard, Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, Samuel Crompton, and Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse. After him are Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, Josef Dobrovský, Shaykh Ahmad, Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux, Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, and Charlotte Buff. Among people deceased in 1809, Jean-Pierre Blanchard ranks 8. Before him are Nicolai Abildgaard, Jean Lannes, Thomas Paine, Rama I, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, and Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy. After him are Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, Ueda Akinari, August Ludwig von Schlözer, Joseph-Marie Vien, Leopold Auenbrugger, and Matthew Boulton.

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In France

Among people born in France, Jean-Pierre Blanchard ranks 1,701 out of 6,770. Before him are Philippe de Broca (1933), Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully (1560), Jean François Paul de Gondi (1613), Patrick Tambay (1949), Vincent of Lérins (400), and Édouard Roche (1820). After him are Roger Ducos (1747), Marie de Gournay (1565), Léon Werth (1878), Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon (1675), Christian de Castries (1902), and Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne (1756).

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Among INVENTORS In France

Among inventors born in France, Jean-Pierre Blanchard ranks 20. Before him are André-Jacques Garnerin (1769), Charles-Émile Reynaud (1844), Étienne-Jules Marey (1830), Clément Ader (1841), André Michelin (1853), and Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville (1817). After him are Louis Le Prince (1841), Henri Giffard (1825), Joseph Monier (1823), Guillaume Amontons (1663), Charles Cros (1842), and Émile Baudot (1845).

French born Inventors

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