Charles Blondin: The Victorian Daredevil Who Crossed Niagara Falls on a Tightrope

Charles Blondin: The Victorian Daredevil Who Crossed Niagara Falls on a Tightrope

Would you have trusted a man to carry you across the Niagara Gorge on his back, with nothing beneath you except the rushing water?

Today I want to find out a little about Charles Blondin. He was a French acrobat and tightrope walker whose extraordinary performances made him one of the most famous entertainers of the Victorian period.

Charles was born Jean-François Gravelet on the 28th of February 1824 in Hesdin, northern France. He began training as an acrobat when he was only five years old and soon appeared before audiences under the nickname the The Little Wonder and Boy Wonder.

When he got older, he performed under several stage names, eventually becoming best known as Blondin or the Great Blondin. His balance, confidence and flair for creating dramatic spectacles quickly attracted attention.

In the 1850s, Blondin travelled to the United States, where he performed with an acrobatic troupe and became involved with a circus. However, the achievement that transformed him into an international celebrity took place on the 30th of June 1859.

Blondin walked across the Niagara Gorge on a rope approximately 1,100 feet long, suspended around 160 feet above the water. Thousands of spectators gathered to watch as he completed the dangerous crossing.

One successful attempt was not enough for Blondin. He crossed the gorge several more times while introducing increasingly daring variations. He walked blindfolded, travelled inside a sack, pushed a wheelbarrow and crossed while wearing stilts. On another occasion, he carried his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back.

Perhaps his most unusual performance involved stopping halfway across the rope to cook and eat an omelette.

Blondin later performed throughout Britain and Ireland. In 1860, tragedy occurred during an appearance in Dublin when the supporting rope broke and part of the scaffolding collapsed. Blondin escaped injury, but two workers were killed. An initial investigation did not place responsibility on Blondin, although questions were raised about the rope and the organisation of the event.

He continued performing at venues including the Crystal Palace in London, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham. He even crossed a high rope while riding a specially constructed bicycle.

Blondin continued performing into old age. In 1896, when he was 71, he crossed Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park, Leeds, several times. This became his final public performance.

Charles Blondin died at his home in Ealing, London, on the 22nd of February 1897, shortly before his 73rd birthday. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery.

His name became so closely associated with tightrope walking that other performers were frequently described as “Blondins”.

Would you have been brave enough to watch Blondin cross Niagara Gorge, or would you have found it too terrifying?