First tightrope crossing of Niagara Falls

1859 Tightrope maestro Charles Blondin (Jean François Gravelet) crossed Niagara Falls on a rope in five minutes.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Blondin started the trip that was to make history. Dressed in pink tights and a yellow tunic, the great Blondin crossed a cable about five centimetres (two inches) in diameter and 335 metres (1,100 feet) long with only a balancing pole to protect him from a plunge into the swirling rapids below ...