Drones and their uses

UAVs or drones were first experiment by the Montgolfier Brothers with balloons in 1782.

The Montgolfier brothers, Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, were born in France in a family of paper manufacturers with 14 siblings. 

Joseph, who was more of an inventor than Jacques, was first stroke by the idea while watching "a fire one evening contemplating one of the great military issues of the day—an assault on the fortress of Gibraltar".

Their first experiment with the balloon took place in December 14, 1782.

Then, in 1848 John Stringfellow and William Henson, two English scientist, built steam powered propeller which they called Aerial Steam Carriage which flew for a distance of approximately 60 yards.

The first major American UAV flew on March 6, 1918 called American Navy Curtiss/Sperry “flying bomb“ or "Kettering Bug".

However, the 1950s and 1960s were the period when UAVs or drones saw their advancement into the military and started to be used years later into different other programes. 

For more information:

http://www.draganfly.com/news/2009/03/04/a-short-history-of-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-uavs/