Kuparentko, Yordake

Kuparentko, Yordake ( 1780 - 1844 ) - one of the first Romanian , Polish and Lithuanian aeronauts , inventor and circus artist . Born around Iass . At the age of 15 he ran away from home and began working at the National Theater in Iasi. During the tour of the French circus troupe Kotler, the daughter of the owner of the circus falls in love with him. Kuparentko enters the troupe, becomes a circus artist and goes on a long tour to Poland . Performing a difficult acrobatic exercise at a height he breaks his leg, and can no longer perform in the circus. Kuparentko devotes himself to the construction of balloons . He came up with several varieties, including one of the varieties of a parachute . Performed 3 flights on balloons:

• June 1806 - over Warsaw . A balloon made of paper caught fire and Kuparentko barely escaped.
• December 6, 1806 - a successful climb over Vilnius .
• July 24, 1808 - the most successful climb over Warsaw. With the assistance of physicist Antonio Mager, he performed a series of measurements of atmospheric parameters at altitude using Mager instruments.

It is known that in 1811 he served in the Polish army with the rank of lieutenant.

Another area of ​​interest was invention.

• In 1827, he invented a complex musical instrument, which was given the name "Buzuton", a prototype of a barrel organ that performed opera overtures, marches and choirs. The tool was presented at an exhibition in Warsaw in 1828 .
• In 1830, he invented the mechanical puppet theater, which was exhibited at the universal exhibition in Paris . Since 1842, this theater was part of the Pitoresk Music Conservatory in Warsaw.

Kuparantko died in 1844 . He was buried in the Greek cemetery in Warsaw .