Editing Joseph-Michel Montgolfier

{{Era|Individuals}}
{{WP-REAL}}
{{Quote|Get in a supply of taffeta and of cordage, quickly, and you will see one of the most astonishing sights in the world.|Joseph Montgolfier to his brother, Étienne|Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook|Historic Personage Sheets}}
'''Joseph-Michel Montgolfier''' (26 August 1740 - 26 June 1810)<ref name = "Personage">''[[Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook]]'' – [[Historic Personage Sheets]]: Montgolfier brothers</ref> was a French paper manufacturer. He, along with his brother [[Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier|Étienne]], invented the Montgolfière-style hot air balloon.

==Biography==
Joseph-Michel was the 12th of 16 children. In 1777, Joseph noticed that laundry dried over a fire formed air pockets. In later years, he would recount that one evening in 1782, he was thinking about the recent attempted {{Wiki|Great Siege of Gibraltar|Siege of Gibraltar}}, where no attack, from sea or land, had been successful. While watching sparks drift upward from the fire and wondering what created the effect, Joseph wondered if that force could be harnessed to enable future troops to attack targets by air. Joseph built a box-like chamber out of thin wood and covered it with taffeta. When he burned paper beneath the device, it quickly rose to the ceiling.<ref name = "Personage"/>

He wrote to his brother Étienne, and they built a second fabric-covered craft, scaled up by three. They tested it on 14 December, 1782, but lost control of the vessel, which floated over a mile before landing, and it was destroyed by passerby. Their first public demonstration of the hot-air balloon was held on June 4, 1783, in {{Wiki|Annonay}}. The flight lasted ten minutes, reached an altitude of approximately 6,000 feet, and covered 1.2 miles. Joseph remained in Annonnay while Étienne represented the brothers in Paris.<ref name = "Personage"/>

On September 9, 1783, in [[Versailles]],<ref name = "Personage"/> under the patronage of the French Academy of Sciences,<ref name="Database">''[[Assassin's Creed Unity]]'' – [[Database: Montgolfier Flight]]</ref> a balloon was flown with the first living beings to understand the effect of flight upon them, its occupants were a sheep, a duck and a rooster. [[Louis XVI of France|King Louis]] and [[Marie Antoinette]] were in attendance.<ref name = "Personage"/>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed Unity]]'' {{Mdat}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment – Employee Handbook]]'' {{mo}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:French people]]