Who invented the first practical hot-air balloon in 1783?

The Montgolfier brothers invented the first practical hot-air balloon in 1783.

Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier were paper manufacturers from Annonay, France. Their experiments showed that a large fabric envelope could rise when filled with air heated by a fire. On 4 June 1783, they demonstrated an unmanned balloon before officials and spectators in Annonay.

The brothers did not discover buoyancy itself; their achievement was applying the principle to a controllable, fabric flying machine. Their early balloon used paper and linen, with a fire beneath it. The Montgolfiers initially believed smoke created the lifting effect, but heated air was the real cause.

Their demonstrations quickly attracted scientific and royal attention. Later that year, their balloon carried animals near Versailles, followed by the first free human flight in Paris. The family name therefore became permanently linked with the birth of aviation, although later balloons used safer designs, stronger materials, and propane burners.