Quick Facts
Biography
Pierre Testu-Brissy (1770? – 1829) was a pioneering French balloonist who achieved fame for making many flights astride animals, particularly horses.
Testu-Brissy made his first balloon ascent in 1785, and the first night ascent on 18 June 1786 in a hydrogen balloon. He made the world's first electrical observations on 18 June 1786 as he ascended into thunderclouds, and said that he drew remarkable discharges from the clouds by means of an iron rod, carried in the car.
Testu-Brissy's first solo ascent was on 18 September 1791 from Paris. He subsequently undertook more than 50 flights in his lifetime, including the first ascent on horseback on 16 October 1798 from Bellevue Park in Paris. He and his horse made more than fifty of these documented flights.