Case file · Sighting
Gusmão's 'flying ship' over Lisbon
In August 1709 the Brazilian-born priest Bartolomeu de Gusmão floated a small hot-air balloon before King João V in Lisbon, and prints of a bird-shaped 'Passarola' flying ship spread across Europe.
1709 CE · 38.71, -9.14 · status: explained
The account
The balloon demonstration, 74 years before the Montgolfiers, is recorded by witnesses. The famous engraving of a winged airship carrying the inventor was a fanciful image, perhaps meant to mislead rivals, and Gusmão was mocked as 'o Voador'.