Notes:

Wan Hu was an official in Ming Dynasty China who wished to travel to outer space and visit the moon. His existence and whether or not his experiment actually took place is up for debate, but it makes a good story.

Below is the legend of what apparently happened during the attempt.

"Early in the sixteenth century, Wan decided to take advantage of China's advanced rocket and fireworks technology to launch himself into outer space. He supposedly had a chair built with forty-seven rockets attached. On the day of lift-off, Wan, splendidly attired, climbed into his rocket chair and forty seven servants lit the fuses and then hastily ran for cover. There was a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, Wan and the chair were gone, and was said never to have been seen again."