i stumbled on this by chance:

[heidihagen 0]

This day in history: April 28

Q: Who made the first parachute jump?

A: On this day in 1919, Leslie Irvin was the first person to jump with an Army Air Corp rip-cord type parachute. (A few people had experimented with parachutes in the late 1800's, but the early designs were not reliable.) Irvin was working with other jumpers and experimenters in the U.S. Army Air Corps, who developed the Army Model A parachute. Starting in 1923, Air Corps pilots were required to wear parachutes on all flights.

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/docs/tdih/

i didn't lose my mind, i sold it on ebay. .:need a container to fit 5'4", 110 lb. cypres ready & able to fit a 170 main (or slightly smaller):.[/ce

[ryoder 1,406]

Balloonists were using it long before that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.