On February 4, 1912, Franz Reichelt, a tailor from
Austria-Hungary, jumped to his death from the Eiffel
Tower while testing a parachute suit of his own
design. Reichelt had been working on the suit for
several years, and he was convinced that it would
work.
On the day of the jump, Reichelt arrived at the Eiffel
Tower with a crowd of journalists and onlookers. He
was wearing his parachute suit and carrying a large
suitcase. He climbed to the first platform of the tower
and then stepped off the edge.
The parachute failed to deploy and he plummeted 57
metres (187 ft) to his death.
