of the ban he was immediately ready to proceed with his plan. He advertised the ascent in the L'Ami des Lois: The balloon flight On 8 July 1798 a large number of spectators gathered in the Parc Monceau to witness the ascent. By all accounts Citoyenne Henri was young and beautiful, and she and Garnerin took several turns around the park to the applause of the crowd before she was assisted into the basket of the balloon by the astronomer Jérôme Lalande. The balloon trip passed without incident and the journey ended at Goussainville about to the north of Paris. There is no record of the relationship between Garnerin and Citoyenne Henri, where he recruited her for the trip or what her motives were in accepting. Garnerin gave her a present after the trip. Aftermath There was fervent press interest in the beautiful young girl for a few days, but her fame did not endure. Shortly afterwards, on 10 November 1798, Garnerin's future wife Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse was also taken up in his balloon. Subsequently, both his wife and his niece Élisa Garnerin became well known for their parachuting feats and Madame Blanchard was celebrated for her solo ballooning, relegating the less impressive exploits of Citoyenne Henri to a footnote in history. Notes References Bibliography 18th-century births French balloonists Aviation pioneers French aviators Year of birth missing Year of death missing French women aviators