Monsieur Franz Reichelt with his early parachute - an outstanding example of the way in which early aviators were as spectacular in their failures as in their successes. Reichelt was an Austrian tailor who sought to combine his interests by creating a garment to serve as both an overcoat and a parachute. In 1911 he decided to test his invention. Having told the authorities that he wanted to make a "dummy" drop, at the last moment he strapped himself in, and with sublime confidence stepped from a platform of the Eiffel Tower, and fell to his death.
