Paris in the 18th century Paris from across Europe and from the United States to share ideas; Benjamin Franklin came in 1766 to meet with Voltaire and to talk about his experiments with electricity. The 18th century in Paris was a particularly inventive period. Some of the discoveries of Paris scientists, particularly in the field of chemistry, were quickly put to practical use; the experiments of Lavoisier were used to create the first modern chemical plants in Paris, and the production of hydrogen gas enabled the Montgolfier Brothers to launch the first manned flight in a hot-air balloon on 21 November 1783, from the Château
Hot air balloon kingdom, during the Three Kingdoms era (220–280 AD), used airborne lanterns for military signaling. These lanterns are known as Chinese lanterns (). In the 18th century the Portuguese Jesuit priest Bartolomeu de Gusmão envisioned an aerial apparatus called "Passarola" which was the predecessor of the hot air balloon. The purpose of "Passarola" was to serve as air vessel in order to facilitate communication and as a strategical device. In 1709 John V of Portugal decided to fund Bartolomeu de Gusmão's project following a petition made by the jesuit priest and an unmanned demonstration was performed at Casa da India in