Google celebrates world's first parachute jump 216 years ago

The parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are usually made of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now mostly nylon.




It was originally coined by French aeronaut François Blanchard  in 1785.

While early parachutes were made of linen stretched over a wooden frame, Blanchard began making parachutes from folded silk. 

In 1797, Andre Garnerin made the first descent using such a parachute. Garnerin also invented the vented parachute, which improved the stability of the fall.