The casual reader might think that there is a mistake in the title of this paper, but the first authenticated descent by parachute was made in 1797 by Andre Jacques Garnerin in Paris. Subsequently, M. Garnerin also made the first parachute descent in England, in 1802, and some thirty-five years later Mr. Robert Cocking, then sixty-one years of age, made a descent in a parachute of a very different design. This descent resulted in his losing his life.

In the interim period between the two descents in England, considerable speculation arose about the designs. The authorities in “Aerostation” of the day put forward some remarkable hypotheses about the problems involved and it might perhaps be of interest to the many people who are now familiar with parachutes to read about them. It is no accident, of course, that the parachute first made a positive appearance at this time. Man had just learnt to free himself from the earth by means of hot air and gas balloons and thus the need for a means of escape was born.