forces. It is the first battle in history to be affected by aerial observation. 1795 October 29, Observation balloons used in Battle of Mainz. 1797 October 22, André-Jacques Garnerin jumps from a balloon from over Parc Monceau in Paris in a -) diameter parachute made of white canvas with a basket attached. He is declared "official French aeronaut of the state". 1798 At least one balloon of the French armys Company of Aeronauts is transported aboard the French Navy warship Le Patriote for use ashore in conducting a reconnaissance of the coast of Egypt, but Le Patriote strikes a rock and sinks off Alexandria, Egypt, on July 4. August 1, The French ship-of-the-line Orient has gear of the French Armys Company of Aeronauts on board when she is destroyed during the Battle of the Nile. October 15, First balloon ascent on horseback: Pierre Testu-Brissy ascends from Bellevue, Meudon in Paris. 1799 Englishman Sir George Cayley (1773–1857) sketches a glider with a rudder unit and an elevator unit. His manuscript is considered to be the starting point of the scientific research on heavier than air flying machines. It is Cayley who helps to sort out the confusion of the time. ..."He knew more than any of his predecessors ... and successors up to the end of the 19th century." – Orville Wright. Even so, his ideas do not affect further development very much. Birth of John Stringfellow, another English pioneer of heavier than air flying machines (d. 1883). January 15, The French Armys Company of Aeronauts is abolished. October 12, Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse becomes the first woman to jump from a balloon with a parachute, from an altitude of 900 m. See also Timeline of aviation – 19th century References 1701 18th century in transport