Stefan Banic
Štefan Banič (1870-1941)
Inventor of the ParachuteBorn on 23rd of November
1870 in Nestich (Neštich), now part of Smolenice. Constructed a
prototype of a parachute in
1913 and tested it in
Washington D.C in front of the U.S. Patent Office and
military representatives by jumping from a 41-floor building and subsequently from an
airplane in
1914. Banic kindly Donated U.S.
Patent (No. 1,108,484) to the
U.S. Army. Although the parachute proved to be extremely important during
WWI, he received little fame or fortune for his invention.
Links
http://www.slovakopedia.com/s/stefan-banic.htm