September 19, 1783 — A sheep, a duck, and a rooster become the first passengers in a hot air balloon launched by the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Ettienne.

November 21, 1783 — The first recorded manned flight in a hot air balloon took place in Paris. Built from paper and silk by the Montgolfier brothers, this balloon was piloted on a 22 minute flight by two noblemen from the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

January 19, 1784 — In Lyon, France, the only recorded flight by Joseph Montgolfier was made in one of the largest balloons ever made.

September 15, 1784 — An Italian, Vincenzo Lunardi, made the first balloon flight outside of France. The 500 cubic meter balloon flew from Moorfields in England and landed near Ware.

November 30, 1784 — Launching their balloon from Rhedarium Garden, London, another Frenchman, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, and an American, John Jeffries, make their first flight.

January 7, 1785 — The same team of Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries became the first to fly across the English Channel.

January 9, 1793 — The first flight of a balloon in North America occured in Philadelphia and was piloted by Jean-Pierre Blanchard.

October 10, 1960 — The official birth date of the modern hot-air balloon. The first man-carrying free flight took place at Bruning, Nebraska, in the Raven prototype 'modern' hot-air balloon. The 30,000 cu ft envelope was constructed of a polyurethane coated nylon and the burner was propane powered.

By 1963, the growing sport was able to sustain the first U.S. national championship. The balloons used for passenger flights today were developed in the United States during the 1960s and have two main technological advances: using rip-stop nylon, a very safe and reliable material for the envelope and running a LPG gas burner to heat the air in the envelope. Ballooning began as a sport with a few enthusiasts in the USA and England and spread to Australia in the 1970s. Today there are over 5,000 balloon pilots in the U.S. alone.

Source: Colorado Balloon Classic