Louis-Sébastien Lenormand (May 25, 1757 – April 4, 1837) was a French

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

, and a pioneer in

parachuting Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

Early life

Lenormand was born in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

on May 25, 1757 as the son of a clockmaker. Between 1775 and 1780, he studied

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

under

Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (

Berthollet Claude Louis Berthollet (, 9 December 1748 – 6 November 1822) was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804. He is known for his scientific contributions to the theory of chemical equilibria via the ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he also got involved with the administration of

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

. In this position he learned of the use of scientific and mathematical knowledge in the production of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. After returning to his natal town, he worked in his father's clock shop while immersing himself in the intellectual community and starting his experiments with parachuting, inspired by the performance of a Thai equilibrist who used a parasol for balance. Before performing the public jump from the observatory tower, Lenormand tested his parachutes using animals.

First parachute

Lenormand is considered the first man to make a witnessed descent with a

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

and is also credited with coining the term ''parachute'', from the Latin prefix '' para'' meaning "against", an imperative form of ''parare'' = to avoid, avert, defend, resist, guard, shield or shroud, from ''paro'' = to parry, and the French word '' chute'' for "fall", hence the word "parachute" literally means an aeronautic device "against a fall". After making a jump from a tree with the help of a pair of modified umbrellas, Lenormand refined his contraption and on December 26, 1783 jumped from the tower of the Montpellier

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

in front of a crowd that included Joseph Montgolfier, using a parachute with a rigid wooden frame. His intended use for the parachute was to help entrapped occupants of a burning building to escape unharmed. Lenormand was succeeded by

André-Jacques Garnerin André-Jacques Garnerin (31 January 1769 – 18 August 1823) was a French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute. He was appointed Official Aeronaut of France. Biography André-Jacques Garnerin was born in Paris. During the fir ...

who made the first parachute descent from high altitude in a gondola detached from a balloon, with the help of a non-rigid or collapsible parachute on October 22, 1797, and his wife Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse who made a similar descent two years later.

Career as "professor of technology"

After this public demonstration Lenormand devoted himself to establishing the science of "pure

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

". To this end, he first became a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

monk, as the monastery in Saïx near

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

allowed him to continue his "profane" studies. When during the French Revolution he had to renounce his priesthood and marry, he moved to

Albi Albi (; ) is a commune in France, commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department, on the river Tarn (river), Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ...

to teach technology at a college newly founded by his father-in-law. In 1803 he moved to Paris where he obtained a job at the excise office, part of the finance ministry. During his time at the excise office, Lenormand started publishing in technology journals and filed patents for a paddle boat, a clock successfully installed at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

and a public lighting system. When he was removed from his job in 1815, Lenormand got involved even more in publishing, first establishing ''Les annales de l’industrie nationale et étrangère'' (The Annals of National and Foreign Industry) and ''Le Mercure technologique'' (The Technological Mercury), and, starting in 1822 and continuing until his death in 1837, twenty-volumes of ''Le Dictionnaire technologique'' (The Technologic Dictionary). During that time, he also published manuals on such diverse topics as foodstuff and bookbinding. In 1830, Lenormand returned to Castres and, following his estrangement from his wife and her family, renounced his marriage and resumed his religious life as "Brother Chrysostom". He died there on April 4, 1837 at age 79. In his death certificate, his profession was given as "professor of theology" as the term ''technology'' was still too new at the time.

Notes

* The date differs by source. December 26, 1783 is the most widely reported date.

References

*Louis Guilbert: ''La formation du vocabulaire de l'aviation'' Larousse (1965). Google books
/small> *Joost Mertens: "Technology as the science of the industrial arts: Louis-Sébastien Lenormand (1757-1837) and the popularization of technology", ''History and Technology'' 18(3), 203–231 (2002). Taylor & Francis
/small> *Lynn White, Jr.: "The Invention of the Parachute", ''Technology and Culture'' 9(3), 462-467 (1968). JSTOR
/small> {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenormand, Louis Sebastien 18th-century French physicists 18th-century French inventors French skydivers Parachuting 1757 births 1837 deaths