Montgolfier brothers Montgolfier brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) were paper manufacturers from Annonay, in Ardèche, France best known as inventors of the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon, globe aérostatique. They launched the first piloted ascent, carrying Étienne. Joseph Michel also invented the self-acting hydraulic ram (1796), Jacques Étienne founded the first paper-making vocational school and the brothers invented a process to manufacture transparent paper. The Montgolfier brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne were born into a family of paper manufacturers founded in 1534 in Annonay, in Ardèche, France. Their parents
Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival the following years the festival became much larger and was one of the biggest festivals in Canada. Attendance at one point reached over 225,000 people and had over 150 balloons. In 1998, the festival was also hosting the World Hot Air Airship Championship, which was disputed by 16 teams from Europe, China and the United States. On July 14, 2001, Boileau who was the general manager since its beginning was involved in a horrific hot-air balloon accident just east of the Ottawa International Airport on Leitrim Road. The balloon, while trying to land in an open field, struck some hydro