Štefan Banič (; 23 November 1870 – 2 January 1941) was a Slovak inventor who patented an early parachute design. Born in Jánostelek ( sk, Neštich),

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now part of

Smolenice Smolenice ( hu, Szomolány; german: Smolenitz) is a village and municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava Region of Slovakia, on the foothills of the Little Carpathians. It is 60 km northeast of Bratislava and 25 km northwest of Trnava. The ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

), Banič immigrated to the United States and worked as a coal miner in

Greenville, Pennsylvania Greenville is a borough with home rule status in northwestern Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located along the Shenango River, it lies roughly 80 miles from both Pittsburgh and Cleveland. It is 1.89 square miles in area, and had a ...

. After witnessing a plane crash in 1912, Banič constructed a prototype of a parachute in 1913 and was granted US patent, No. 1,108,484. The design which was radically different from others - it was a kind of umbrella attached to the body - but it is sometimes claimed that he successfully tested it in Washington, D.C. jumping first from a 15-storey building and subsequently from an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurat ...

in 1914. He donated his patent to the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

- but there is no evidence that it was ever used. After World War I Banič returned to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

where he helped to explore the Driny

karst cave Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

in the foothills of the Little Carpathian Mountains, close to his hometown of

Legacy

In 1997, US skydiver Slavo Mulik, also born in Slovakia, created the Stefan Banic Parachute Foundation which offers bronze, silver and gold medal awards to individuals involved in events, promotions and/or celebrations of skydiving, in memory of Banic. In 2006, Slovak military paratroopers installed a memorial plaque at his birthplace in Smolenice."Banic: The inventor of the parachute"
osobnosti.sk (Slovak) Trnava - Boleráz airport, near Smolenice, carries Banič's name.

References

External links

US1108484
Parachute patent {{DEFAULTSORT:Banic, Stefan 1870 births 1941 deaths People from the Kingdom of Hungary People from Trnava District Slovak scientists Slovak inventors Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States American people of Slovak descent Czechoslovak people of World War I