I was thinking about this the other day, but couldn’t remember the full story. I figured it out today though. It’s the story of Chinese official in either the 1500’s (AD - or 3000 BC, I saw somebody else write), named Wan Hu. He had this idea to build a chair attached to kites, and 47 rockets (firecrackers, basically), which he was planning on using to get to the Moon. According to legend:

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. He was never seen again.

That’s one of my all time favorite stories for some reason. I’ve always felt quite certain that his voyage was not only a success, but that’s living happily on the Moon even still. There is, after all, a moon crater named after him.