Jean-François Boyvin de Bonnetot

Jean-François Boyvin de Bonnetot, Marquis de Bacqueville (1688 – Paris, 7 October 1760), was a French inventor from Bacqueville-en-Caux.

March 19, 1742

On March 19, 1742, he flew in a glider over the river Seine. Jean-Jacques Rousseau observed and recorded the event in his biographical book.^[1][2][3] He equipped himself with wings and attempted to fly off the roof of the hotel. He briefly hovered 300 meters above the Seine before falling into a barge and breaking his leg.

Boyvin died in 1760 in a house fire in Paris.^[4][5]