In 1912 motion picture cameras, still in their infancy, recorded the inventor and tailor’s leap to death Franz Reichelt from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Reichelt wanted to prove beyond doubt that the improvised parachute he had built worked, and on February 4, 1912, he made the jump into the void while the assembled crowd of Parisians watched.

Beware harsh images:

Despite the efforts of bystanders to prevent him, the 33-year-old jumped off the first platform of the tower wearing his invention, though he initially seems to hesitate for about half a minute. The parachute failed to open, and he fell to the ground from a height of 57 meters.

Le Petit Parisien newspaper reported that Reichelt’s right leg and arm were crushed, that his skull and spine were fractured and that he was bleeding from his mouth, nose and ears. Le Figaro noted that his eyes were wide open, dilated with terror. He was already dead by the time onlookers rushed to him, but was taken to Necker Hospital where he was officially pronounced dead.

The Paris authorities denied that they had given permission for the inventor to perform the death jump, claiming that they had only given permission for experiments with dolls.