Jean-François Boyvin de Bonnetot, Marquis de Bacqueville (1688 –
Paris, 7 October 1760), was a French inventor from
Bacqueville-en-Caux.
On March 19, 1742, he flew in a glider over the river
Seine.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau observed and recorded the event in his biographical book.[1][2][3] He equipped himself with wings and attempted to fly off the roof of the hotel. He briefly hovered 300 meters above the
Seine before falling into a barge and breaking his leg.
Boyvin died in 1760 in a house fire in Paris.[4][5]