Who were the two passengers on the first free, crewed hot-air balloon flight in 1783?

Pilâtre de Rozier and François d'Arlandes were the two passengers on the first free, crewed hot-air balloon flight in 1783.

Their journey occurred in Paris on 21 November 1783, using a balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers. The craft was heated from below, and the two men controlled the fire by adding fuel during the flight.

Pilâtre de Rozier was a scientist and early aeronaut who had already taken part in tethered ascents. The Marquis d'Arlandes was a French military officer who became interested in the practical possibilities of ballooning. Their flight lasted roughly 20 minutes and covered several miles.

The pair are often confused with Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert, who made an important early flight in a hydrogen balloon later in 1783. That was a different gas-filled design, not the first free hot-air flight.