Brief History of Skydiving

Believe it or not, parachutes in general go back thousands of years. Both Da Vinci and the Chinese are credited with coming up with the intial concept. However, it was during the 18th century in France that parachutes were actually used. In 1797, the first drop was made by Andre Jacques Garnerin. Made of silk and supported by internal supports, the chief material of this parachute was silk, which still is still the main material parachutes are made of today.
Skydiving as a sport however, did not fully come into being until early 20th century (after the Wright brothers flight). Pilots were not even equipped with parachites until the mid 1920s, when it was deemed necessary to a pilot to abandon his craft if necessay. Althought it was not recognized by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (World Air Sports Federation) as an aeronautical sport until the 1950s, it is now the largest aeronautical sport recognized by the FAI.



Source:
(2008). History of Skydiving. Retreived September 23rd, 2008. From British Parachute Organization. Web Site http://www.bpa.org.uk/history.htm