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or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at into History.com. It's June 4th, 1783 in a town square in Ananae, France. 38 year old Etienne Mon mon golfier strikes of flint and steel together in search of a

spark. After a few tries, a small pilot's straw on the ground sets alight. A meager crowd watches as Etie adds more fuel to the fire. He moves

quickly because time is of the essence. Etieen is here with his older brother

Joseph to demonstrate a new invention.

A large circular sheet lies on the ground,

and if the Mongolthier brothers are right,

it'll soon ascend into the sky like a bird.

Aetien signals to Joseph and the two inventors lift the cotton and paper sheet above the fire.

As smoke and heated air enters an opening in the sheet, it gradually expands into a balloon. Eventually the sheet is

fully inflated but the Mongolvier brothers balloon remains on the ground. One or two

spectators heckle and laugh but Etienne ignores them.

He knows it's just a matter of time before the balloon's ready to go.

And after a few more seconds, Etienne feels the balloon tugging at his hands.

He and Joseph exchanged a nod,

let go at the same time, and the balloon rises into the air.

The small crowd bursts into applause

as the balloon soars up toward the clouds.

It climbs and climbs, rising higher even than Etienne expected till it's little more than a small

spec in the blue sky. This experiment in Anine France doesn't just launch a balloon into the air.

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