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August 27 in History

What happened on August 27 in history? This is the story Historai has told for this date. Listen, or read the transcript and sources.

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August 27, 1783

The Globe That Fell on Gonesse

The launch of the first hydrogen balloon by Jacques Charles on August 27, 1783

A misheard rumor sent a Paris physicist racing to build a flying machine no one had ever seen, filled with a gas that could kill him. When it came back to earth in a farming village, the terrified locals met it with pitchforks.

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