Johann Schmidlap
Johann Schmidlap of Schorndorf was a 16th-century Bavarian fireworks maker and rocket pioneer.
He published a book on fireworks, Künstliche und rechtschaffene Fewrwerck zum Schimpff, printed in Nuremberg in 1561.
He may have been the first to successfully fly staged rockets, although the concept is also discussed in the work of Conrad Haas, which was a direct influence on Schmidlap.
