Illustration of Charles and Noel Robert's first manned ascent of a hydrogen balloon designed by French physics professor Jacques Charles and...
{"Image ImageDescription": "FRANCE - MAY 13:  Illustration of Charles and Noel Robert's first manned (free flight) ascent of a hydrogen balloon, designed by French physics professor Jacques Charles (1746-1823), and constructed by brothers Jean and Noel Robert. It set off in front of a crowd of 400,000, landing two hours later at Nesle-la-Vallee, over 27 miles (43 km) away. Robert alighted here but Charles re-ascended in the balloon, reaching an altitude of over 9000 feet (2.7 km). From ?Histoire des ballons et des aeronautes celebres: 1783-1800? (History of balloons and famous aeronauts), by Gaston Tissandier (1843-1899), published in 1887.  (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)", "Image Copyright": "SSPL/Science Museum"}