The great blondin biography channel
Charles Blondin
French tightrope walker (1824–1897)
"Blondin" redirects here. For other uses, see Blondin (disambiguation).
Charles Blondin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jean François Gravelet (1824-02-28)28 February 1824 Hesdin, Pas-de-Calais, France |
| Died | 22 February 1897(1897-02-22) (aged 72) Ealing, London, England |
| Occupation | Tightrope walker |
| Spouses | Charlotte Lawrence (died 1888)Katherine James (m. 1895) |
| Children | 8 |
Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 1824 – 22 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States and was known for crossing the 1,100 ft (340 m) Niagara Gorge on a tightrope.
During an event in Dublin in 1860, the rope on which he was walking broke and two workers were killed, although Blondin was not injured.
He married three times and had eight children. His name became synonymous with tightrope walking.
Early life
Blondin was born on 28 February 1824 in Hesdin, Pas-de-Calais, France. His birth name was Jean-François Gravelet, though he was known by many other names and nicknames: Charles Blondin, Jean-François Blondin, Chevalier Blondin, and The Great Blondin. At the age of five, he was sent to the École de Gymnase in Lyon and, after six months of training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as "The Boy Wonder". His superior skill and grace, as well as the originality of the settings of his acts, made him a popular favourite.
North America
Blondin went to the United States in 1855. He was encouraged by William Niblo to perform with the Ravel troupe in New York City and was subsequently part proprietor of a circus. He especially owed his celebrity and fortune to his idea to cross the Niagara Gorge (on the Canada–U.S. border) on a tightrope, 1,100 ft (340 m) lo
Recalling Niagara’s original funambulist, the Great Blondin
When we think of Niagara daredevils, a few names are sure to be at the top of the list. On June 30, 164 years ago, perhaps the most famous of Niagara’s daredevils made his first of many trips over the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope. His name was Jean Francois Gravelet, better known by his stage name, the Great Blondin.
Born in France in 1824, Gravelet was already demonstrating remarkable talent at gymnastics school when he was only four years old. When he left the school four years later, he could already walk and dance on a tightrope and could even do somersaults. Later, he was invited to join a famous circus troupe that travelled extensively in Europe before making its way to the United States. While performing in Buffalo, Blondin visited Niagara Falls and was instantly determined to be the first to make the crossing on a rope. He later wrote, “To cross those roaring waters became the ambition of my life.”
His rope was two inches wide and 160 feet above the churning river midway between the Rainbow and Whirlpool Rapids bridges. As many as 10,000 people made the trip to Niagara to view the well-publicized event. At approximately 5 p.m., Blondin made his way out on the rope from the American side of the river with his balancing pole in his hands. When he arrived at the middle, he sat down and lowered a rope to the Maid of the Mist steamboat below where a bottle was attached. After he pulled the bottle up, he drank the contents (some say wine, others say water) before tossing the bottle and continuing on to Canadian soil. After resting and greeting the exuberant crowd, Blondin returned across the rope in only eight minutes, running most of the way.
Blondin performed the feat throughout the summer of 1859 and added several dangerous and difficult tricks to keep the crowds entertained and perhaps willing to drop a few coins into a collection for Blondin. Some of his stunts included crossing backwards, c 1678 Summer 1859 Signorini Maria Spelterini, crossing Whirl Pool Rapids, Niagara, on a rope. On line of N.Y.C. & H.R.R.R. George Barker (American, 1844 - 1894), July 1876, Albumen silver print. 1867 July 15, 1885 1887 September 6, 1890 October 12, 1892 July 1896 .
Franciscan monk and explorer Louis Hennepin becomes the first European explorer to encounter Niagara Falls. Impressed, Hennepin estimates the falls to be an incredible 600 feet high—though, in reality, they rise 170 feet.
Jean François Gravelet-Blondin, known as the “Great Blondin,” begins a famous series of tightrope walks across the Niagara gorge. The act draws crowds as large as 25,000 people. Blondin crosses in increasingly difficult ways, riding a bicycle, pushing a wheelbarrow and even with his hands and legs bound in chains. His most difficult crossing takes place on August 19, when he manages to carry his manager over the rope on his back.
Maria Spelterina, a 23-year-old Italian woman, becomes the only woman to cross the gorge by tightrope. Seeking to add some drama to the events, she crosses Niagara wearing woven baskets instead of shoes and with her head covered by a paper bag.
The Niagara Reservation State Park opens, attracting 750,000 visitors. It is the first state park established in the United States.
Twenty years after the last crossing, Niagara Falls claims its first—and only—tightrope victim when the body of Stephen Peer, a local Ontario native, is discovered. Just days before, Peer had made several successful trips, and authorities determine that he died after a botched attempt at a nighttime crossing.
Three years after Peer’s death, Samuel Dixon uses the same cable as Peer to make several successful crossings while performing a variety of stunts.
Toronto’s Clifford Calverly sets the record for the fastest crossing across the gorge. He makes his way across a 3/4-inch steel cable in just 6 minutes, 33.5 seconds.
The last tightrope crossing for more tha