Franz Reichelt (1912) – An Austrian-born French tailor, inventor and parachuting pioneer, now sometimes referred to as the Flying Tailor, who is remembered for his accidental death by jumping from the Eiffel Tower while testing a wearable parachute of his own design. Perhaps the urge to spread his arms and fly was so great that he stitched an overcoat into a flying contraption/parachute. He had notified the authorities he would use a dummy to test his contraption from the Eiffel Tower.
Cameras rolled, as Reichelt stood on the edge of the Tower’s 60m deck. After waiting 45 seconds, he jumped – and his loyalty in his parachute faded fast when it refused to support his cause, and he plunged to his death seconds later. Video HERE!