Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier

Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (March 30,1754 – June 15, 1785) is a French chemistry and physics teacher, and one of the first pioneers of aviation.

He and the Marquis d'Arlandes make the first manned free balloon flight on November 21, 1783, in a Montgolfier balloon.

He later dies when his balloon crashes near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais during an attempt to fly across the English Channel.

He and his companion, Pierre Romain, thus become the first known fatalities in an air crash.

He also risks himself while researching the flammability of hydrogen: in "A Short History of Nearly Everything", Bill Bryson writes "In France, a chemist named Pilatre de Rozier tested the flammability of hydrogen by gulping a mouthful and blowing across an open flame, proving at a stroke that hydrogen is indeed explosively combustible and that eyebrows are not necessarily a permanent feature of one’s face."

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