150th anniversary of the birth of Štefan Banič

€10 silver collector coin

Štefan Banič (23 November 1870 – 2 January 1941) was a Slovak designer and inventor. In 1907 he emigrated to the United States, where in Pennsylvania he worked first as a miner and then at a quarry. It was only after joining an engineering works that he demonstrated his innovative talent. In 1912 he witnessed a fatal plane crash, which prompted him to explore ways of improving pilot safety. He came up with a novel parachute design, a kind of umbrella attached to the body. After Banič had demonstrated the parachute, the Patent Office in Washington DC granted him a patent for the design on 25 August 1914, thus giving him the right to produce, use and sell the invention in the United States. The US Army bought the patent, but never actually used this type of parachute. In recognition of his invention, Banič was made an honorary member of the US Air Force. It is claimed that Banič’s parachute was used in the First World War by pilots of the La Fayette Escadrille, a US unit under French command. Banič eventually returned to Czechoslovakia, where he worked at a quarry as a blasting engineer. He also developed his interests in fruit-growing and caving, and in 1930 he was part of the team that made the first exploration of Driny Cave in western Slovakia. He did not continue his inventing career.