The history of ballooning is enthralling. It features Benjamin Franklin, two French paper manufacturers, and two farm animals. The secret of aerial navigation was found near the end of the 18th century in 1782, after numerous repeated experiments over more than 20 centuries, when Stephen (Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier) and Joseph Montgolfier performed their ingenious aerostatic experiment. https://www.skywaltz.com/blog/history-of-hot-air-balloons/