Jean-Francois Boyvin de Bonnetot (1688- )
In 1742 he announced,that he would fly across the river Seine from his mansion, situated in Paris on the quay at the corner of the Rue des Saints Peres, and alight in the Tuilleries, a distance of 500 or 600 ft. A large crowd having assembled on the appointed day, the marquis, with large wings attached to his hands and to his feet, launched himself into space from the summit of a terrace jutting out from one side of the mansion. He faltered, and then he fell, alighting upon the deck of a washerwomen's barge a short distance out into the stream. He broke his leg in the fall, and never attempted the feat again.
He probably glided about 120 ft. with most violent exertions, and fell when his strength became exhausted.