What was the stage name of Jean Franois Gravelet, a French acrobat who crossed Niagara Falls in 1859 on a tightrope 160 feet above the water?
Niagara Falls in his early 40s became the third person to survive an unprotected trip over the Horseshoe Falls. Eyewitness reports show he "deliberately jumped" into the Niagara River after climbing over a railing. Other daredevils have made crossing the gorge their goal, starting with the successful passage by Jean François "Blondin" Gravelet, who crossed Niagara Gorge in 1859. Between 1859 and 1896 a wire-walking craze emerged, resulting in frequent feats over the river below the falls. One inexperienced walker slid down his safety rope. Only one man fell to his death, at night and under mysterious circumstances, at the anchoring place
Niagara Falls days. On July 12, she crossed wearing peach baskets strapped to her feet, on July 19 blind-folded, on July 22 with her ankles and wrists manacled and finally on July 26. Tightrope crossings of the falls ended—by law—in 1896, when James Hardy crossed. On June 15, 2012, high wire artist Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk across the falls in 116 years, after receiving special permission from both governments. The full length of his tightrope was . Wallenda crossed near the brink of the Horseshoe Falls, unlike walkers who had crossed farther downstream. According to Wallenda, it was