Stefan Banic
Štefan Banič (1870-1941)Inventor of the Parachute
Born on 23rd of November 1870 in Nestich (Neštich), now part of Smolenice. Constructed a prototype of a parachute in 1913 and tested it in Washington D.C in front of the U.S. Patent Office and military representatives by jumping from a 41-floor building and subsequently from an airplane in 1914. Banic kindly Donated U.S. Patent (No. 1,108,484) to the U.S. Army. Although the parachute proved to be extremely important during WWI, he received little fame or fortune for his invention.
