Weather balloon
The first observation balloon was launched immediately before the first manned balloon flight by Frenchmen Jean-François de Rozier and the Marquis d'Aalandes on November 21, 1783, for a pre-flight wind reading. Later, French meteorologist Leon Teisserenc de Bort (1855-1913) pioneered the use of weather balloons, handily proving their utility. With balloon-acquired data, he determined the existence of a lower level of the atmosphere, which he termed the troposphere or "sphere of change," where weather takes place. Since the 1930s, when radio tracking systems were invented, balloons have been used as complete floating weather stations, using such instruments as thermometers, barometers, hygrometers, cameras, and telescopes.