when were blimps invented

Blimps, as recognizable non‑rigid airships, first appeared in the early 1900s, with the earliest practical non‑rigid designs taking shape just before and during World War I (around the 1910s).

To place that in context:

• The first powered airship of any kind was built by Henri Giffard in 1852 (rigid-style dirigible, not yet a blimp).

• True blimps are non‑rigid airships that keep their shape purely from internal gas pressure, and these became established as a distinct type in the early 20th century, especially for naval patrol and, soon after, advertising.

• Companies like Goodyear began building blimps in the 1920s, cementing the familiar “advertising blimp” image people think of today.

So: airships date back to the mid‑1800s, but blimps in the modern sense were invented and standardized in the early 1900s, especially around World War I.