Since prehistoric times, people have wanted to take to the skies. Trouble is, humans weren't meant to fly. Of course, that didn't stop some determined souls from trying. Even some of history's greatest thinkers have failed to soar.
Ten bungled personal flight attempts over the centuries occurred when people thought they could fly. Learn about ten bungled personal flight attempts.
- Leonardo da Vinci Complex Ornithopter (c. 1505). This was a machine with flapping wings that closely mimicked the anatomy of birds.
- John Williams, Archbishop of York One day (c. 1589) young Williams was compelled to throw himself out toward the sea, hoping the wind would carry him away. The coat he was wearing at the time was long, and he assumed it could billow out and act like a sail or wings.
- The Marquis de Bacqueville One morning in 1742 he woke and announced his intent to fly from one side of the river Seine to the other. With large wings resembling paddles attached to both his hands and feet, the marquis jumped from a terrace on his mansion. For a moment, the marquis appeared to have control, but he eventually fell.