Biography

He was a famous French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States, and he famously crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope multiple times in the summer of 1859, from June to August. He once walked 190 feet above the Falls blindfolded, and another time, he stopped at the middle of the line to perform stunts such as balancing on his head. Frances Miller Seward described his exhibitions as "wickedly absurd" to her daughter. He was known in America under his stage name, Charles Blondin.