During the winter of 1858, a 34-year-old French acrobat named Jean Franois Gravelet, better known as Monsieur Charles Blondin, traveled to Niagara Falls hoping to become the first person to cross the "boiling cataract."
Knowing how the masses loved peril, he relished the news when he heard that people were betting on his death!
Once Blondin and his team figured out how to get the ropes across, he successfully crossed the Niagara in front of a crowd of thousands. Upon his return, he immediately proclaimed that he would do an encore in two weeks.
Each time Blondin crossed the Niagara, he upped the ante. He would carry people across, pushed a wheelbarrow while wearing an ape costume, did back-flips, and on one very bold occasion, he started a fire and cooked himself an omelet.
There have been numerous people who have crossed the Niagara, but Blondin will forever have his place in history.
