At first it was the balloon; Some time later the zeppelin would come to conquer the skies, or at least try to. But the pioneers of aerostatic ship They were, without a doubt, the Montgolfier brothers when they discovered that the lightness of the smoke made the inverted paper bags with which they played in front of a bonfire rise. Determined to use their discovery, the two brothers experimented with light materials until they obtained a linen and paper balloon. His invention was presented to the public in Paris, on the Champ de Mars, on August 27, 1783.