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Pilatre de Rozier of the Royal Academy and his friend the Marquis d'Arlandes, on November 21, 1783 flew the first hot air balloon
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The first manned balloon flight in England was by Signor Vincent Lunardi who ascended from Moorfields (London) on 15 September 1784.[28]
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The next great challenge was to fly across the English Channel, a feat accomplished on January 7, 1785 by Jean-Pierre Blanchard.
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The first use of the hot air balloon in the military
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During World War II, a large number of barrage balloons were inflated over the city of London in an effort to obstruct Luftwaffe air attacks during the Battle of Britain.
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Modern hot air balloons, with a more sophisticated onboard heat source than the Montgoflier brothers' basket of hot coals, were pioneered by Ed Yost beginning in the 1950s which resulted in his first successful flight on October 22, 1960
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On 26 February 2013 the deadliest ballooning accident in history occurred when a hot air balloon exploded and crashed near Luxor, Egypt. The crash killed 19 of the 21 people on board.
