Template:POTD/2015-12-07

Picture of the day

A 19th-century set of ten cards depicting events in the history of ballooning and parachuting. These cards depict, from left to right:

Top row:

1. Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Jean-Baptiste Biot reaching an altitude of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) (1804)
2. André-Jacques Garnerin making a parachute descent in his gondola (1797)
3. Louis-Sébastien Lenormand making the first witnessed parachute descent (1783)
4. A series of fantastic flying machines dreamed up during the 18th century
5. Use of balloons for reconnaissance during the Battle of Mainz (1795)

Bottom row:

1. The coronation balloon of Napoleon I (1804)
2. The death of Sophie Blanchard (1819)
3. Francesco Zambeccari and two companions adrift in the Adriatic Sea (1804)
4. The death of Thomas Harris (1824)
5. Francesco Arban is rescued by Italian fishermen (1846)

Chromolithograph: Romanet & cie.

This picture of the day has been featured on Portal:History.