Franz Reichelt wearing the parachute that he designed

Franz Reichelt (Unknown - February 4, 1912) was an Austrian tailor best known for his recorded accidental suicide. February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A tailor attending to a customer in Hong Kong. ... It has been suggested that The Pros of suicide be merged into this article or section. ...

Reichelt designed an overcoat to fly or float its wearer gently to the ground like the modern parachute. To demonstrate his invention he made a jump of 60 meters from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower, at that time the tallest man-made structure in the world. The parachute failed and Reichelt fell to his death. The jump was recorded by the cameras of the gathered press. The Eiffel Tower (French: , ) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris, France. ...

External links

• Damn Interesting news article
• Roots of Jackass: 1912 Eiffel Tower Jump Includes a video of the fatal fall.
• Youtube video of his final jump