<P> Blondin was born on 28 February 1824 in Saint - Omer, Pas - de-Calais, France . His birth name was Jean - François Gravelet, though he was known by many other names and nicknames: Charles Blondin, Jean - François Blondin, Chevalier Blondin, and The Great Blondin . At the age of five, he was sent to the École de Gymnase in Lyon and, after six months of training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as "The Boy Wonder". His superior skill and grace, as well as the originality of the settings of his acts, made him a popular favourite . </P> <P> He first married Marie Blancherie on 6 August 1846, legitimising their son Aime Leopold, after which they had two more children . It is not known what happened to his French family after he went to the United States . </P> <P> Blondin went to the United States in 1855 . He was encouraged by William Niblo to perform with the Ravel troupe in New York City and was subsequently part proprietor of a circus . He especially owed his celebrity and fortune to his idea to cross the Niagara Gorge (on the Canada--US border) on a tightrope, 1,100 ft (340 m) long, 3.25 in (8.3 cm) in diameter and 160 ft (49 m) above the water, near the location of the current Rainbow Bridge . This he did on 30 June 1859, and a number of times thereafter, always with different theatrical variations: blindfolded, in a sack, trundling a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man (his manager, Harry Colcord) on his back, sitting down midway while he cooked and ate an omelette, or standing on a chair with only one of its legs balanced on the rope . </P> <P> While in the US he married a second wife, Charlotte Lawrence, with whom he had three children, Adele c. 1854, Edward c. 1855 and Isis c. 1861 . </P>

Who crossed niagara falls on a tightrope in 1859
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