Ildebrando Zacchini (1868 – July 17, 1948) was a Maltese-born painter, inventor, and travelling circus owner. Inspired by the works of Jules Verne, Zacchini came up with an idea for a human cannonball act. Instead of explosives, Zacchini's human-firing cannon used compressed air, and he first tested it on his son Hugo Zacchini. The idea for the cannonball act was initially proposed to the Italian government as a military maneuver to be used in conjunction with parachutes; when the proposal was rejected Zacchini looked to use the technique as part of an entertainment act.