On 19 April 1919, American Leslie Irvin, made the world’s first free fall parachute descent using a rip cord, rather than using a canister or tether line attached to the aircraft to pull open the parachute. Irvin made the historic jump from a plane over McCook field near Dayton, Ohio. During the jump, Irvin broke his ankle but was inspired to start his own parachute business.
The word "parachute" comes from "para", meaning "against" or "counter" in Ancient Greek, and "chute", the French word for "fall".

Brief History of Parachutes

Parachutes with a rigid frames like open umbrellas.

c. 1483 Parachutes first thought of and sketched by Leonardo Da Vinci
(On 26 June 2000, British man, Adrian Nicholas, proved Da Vinci right by dropping, with a Da Vinci implemented parachute, from a hot air balloon 3,000 metres (10,000 feet))

1783 First practical parachute demonstrated by Sebastien Lenormand.

1793 Jean Pierre Blanchard first person to be recorded to actually use a parachute for an emergency situation

No rigid frame

1797 Andrew Garnerin, designed the first parachute air vent and was the first person recorded in history to jump with a parachute without a rigid frame.

1887 Captain Thomas Baldwin invented the first parachute harness

1890 Paul Letteman and Kathchen Paulus invented the method of folding or packing the parachute in a knapsac to be worn on the back before it was to be released.

Kathchen Paulus was the person behind the intentional breakaway invention, which is when one small parachute opens first and pulls open the main parachute.

1911 and in 1914 Grant Morton and Captain Albert Berry parachuted from an airplane

Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick made the first freefall jump.

Also on this day ….

23 April 1924: The original Wembley Stadium, known as the Empire Stadium, was opened by King George V s (the present Wembley Stadium opened in 2007).