-
"Expérience fait à Versailles le 19 Sept 1783," by an unknown artist. A vue d'optique print depicts the launch of the Montgolfier brother's balloon on September 19, 1783. The ascent took place at the Palace of Versailles in France and the royal family was present for the launch. The first living creatures to fly, a duck, a rooster, and a sheep, ventured aloft in a wicker cage dangling beneath the balloon. All three of the animals survived and helped to demonstrate that balloon flight was safe for humans.
