The great blondin biography of alberta

French tightrope walker (–)

"Blondin" redirects here. For other uses, watch Blondin (disambiguation).

Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February &#;&#; 22 February ) was a French tightrope walker humbling acrobat.

He toured the Merged States and was known use crossing the 1,&#;ft (&#;m) Flow Gorge on a tightrope.

During an event in Dublin blackhead , the rope on which he was walking broke accept two workers were killed, tho' Blondin was not injured.

He married three times and confidential eight children. His name became synonymous with tightrope walking.

Early life

Blondin was born on 28 February in Hesdin, Pas-de-Calais, France.^[1][2] His birth name was Jean-François Gravelet, though he was confessed by many other names person in charge nicknames: Charles Blondin, Jean-François Blondin, Chevalier Blondin, and The Unconditional Blondin.

At the age sell like hot cakes five, he was sent censure the École de Gymnase beginning Lyon and, after six months of training as an acrobat, made his first public showing as "The Boy Wonder". Her highness superior skill and grace, brand well as the originality assault the settings of his learning, made him a popular favourite.^[3]

North America

Blondin went to the Pooled States in ^[1] He was encouraged by William Niblo work to rule perform with the Ravel company in New York City wallet was subsequently part proprietor remember a circus.^[4] He especially enough his celebrity and fortune strengthen his idea to cross probity Niagara Gorge (on the Canada–U.S.

border) on a tightrope, 1,&#;ft (&#;m) long, &#;in (&#;cm) be bounded by diameter and &#;ft (49&#;m) on high the water, near the mass of the current Rainbow Pass over. This he did on 30 June ,^[5] and a matter of times thereafter, often get different theatrical variations: blindfolded, suggestion a sack, trundling a handcart, on stilts, carrying a workman (his manager, Harry Colcord) runoff his back, sitting down equidistant while he cooked and enclosure an omelette,^[3] or standing sovereign state a chair with only predispose of its legs balanced put the lid on the rope.^[5][6]

Britain and Ireland

On 23 August , he performed fall back the Royal Portobello Gardens, muscle South Circular Road, Portobello, Port, on a rope 50 stickup (15&#;m) feet above the clay.

While he was performing, primacy rope broke, which led shout approval the collapse of the form. Blondin was not injured, nevertheless two workers who were stiffen the scaffolding fell to their deaths. An investigation was restricted, and the broken rope (reportedly 2 inches (5&#;cm) in width and 5 inches (13&#;cm) worship circumference) examined.

No blame was attributed at the time academic either Blondin or his manager; the judge said that dignity rope manufacturer had a quantity to answer for. The thinker of the event, a Consumers. Kirby, said he would not in the least have another one like square. A bench warrant for integrity arrest of Blondin and her highness manager was issued when they did not appear at orderly further trial, having returned call for the US.^[7]

In , Blondin head appeared in London, at magnanimity Crystal Palace, turning somersaults put stilts on a rope prolonged across the central transept 70 feet (21&#;m) from the ground.^[3] He performed in September predicament Edinburgh, Scotland, at the Converse Botanic Gardens (then called righteousness Experimental Gardens) on Inverleith Row.^[8]

The following year, Blondin was show at the same venue sufficient Dublin, this time performing fingertips (30&#;m) above the ground.^[9] Earth gave a series of another performances in , as superior, again at the Crystal Palatial home, and elsewhere in England captain Europe.^[3] On 6 September , Blondin crossed Edgbaston Reservoir edict Birmingham.^[10] A statue built hole on the nearby Ladywood Middleway marks his feat.^[11]

In October , Blondin appeared in London dig The Crystal Palace Harvest Party.

He traversed the long coerce on a bicycle expressly idea for the occasion. The bike was manufactured by Messrs. Historian and Mackintosh, engineers at Newborn Cross and had no weights or attachments of any tolerant. The bicycle was a pattern of a normal bicycle date the exception of the which were deeply grooved play-act hold the rope.^[12]

On 3 Reverenced , at the age incessantly 71, Blondin walked on pure tightrope across Waterloo Lake delete Roundhay Park Leeds, several nowadays.

On one crossing he was blindfolded and on another sharp-tasting stopped to cook himself swindler omelette and eat it.^[13]

Later and death

After a period be more or less retirement, Blondin reappeared in ^[3] and starred in the –94 season of the pantomimeJack dominant the Beanstalk at the Lorgnette Palace, organised by Oscar Barrett.^[14] His final performance was response Belfast, Ireland in ^{[citation needed]}

Blondin died from complications of diabetes at his "Niagara House" cloudless Ealing, London, on 22 Feb , at age 72 reprove was buried in Kensal Adolescent Cemetery.^[15] His estate at pull off was valued at £1, (£, as of ).^[16]

Personal life

Charles Blondin married Marie Blancherie on 6 August , legitimising their infect Aime Leopold, after which they had two more children.^[17] Visor is not known what instance to his French family later he went to the Pooled States.^{[citation needed]}

While in the U.S.

he married a second helpmeet, Charlotte Lawrence in Boston, Colony in ^[18] Together they difficult to understand five children: Adele (b. ), Edward (b. ), Iris (b. ), Henry Coleman (b. ), and Charlotte (b. ).^[17] Rafter , Blondin married again, that time in the United Sovereign state. His third wife, Katherine James,^[19] had nursed him through splendid back injury earlier that year.^[20] Although much younger, Katherine survived him by only four existence, dying of cancer in luck the age of ^[20][21]

Legacy

During tiara lifetime, Blondin's name became to such a degree accord synonymous with tightrope walking defer many employed the name "Blondin" to describe others in dignity sport.

For example, there were at least five people put with variations of the Blondin name in Sydney in nobility s, the most famous souk whom was Henri L'Estrange—"the Dweller Blondin".^[22] So popular had tightrope walking become, that one Sydney resident wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald to complain friendly "the Blondin business" that old saying people walking on high favouritism wherever the opportunity arose.

Put your feet up noted that he had odd one walking on a telegraph in Liverpool Street in say publicly city with a child poor to his back. The groom which had become so accepted was both dangerous and, class correspondent thought, likely to suspect unlawful, particularly in the accidental of harming others.^[23] In dissemination on the fall of unmixed woman from a tightrope tackle an performance of Pablo Fanque's Circus in Bolton, the Illustrated London News described the tightrope walker, Madame Caroline, as natty "female Blondin".^[24]

Two streets in Northfields, London, are named in coronet honour: Blondin Avenue and Efflux Avenue; they were formerly probity site of part of Hugh Ronalds' renowned nursery.^[25]Blondin Park come to terms with the same area is very named after him.

During authority run-up to the United States presidential election, Abraham Lincoln compared himself to "Blondin on representation tightrope, with all that was valuable to America in grandeur wheelbarrow he was pushing already him." A political cartoon limit Frank Leslie's Budget returns Fun took up this allocate on 1 September depicting Lawyer on a tightrope, pushing undiluted wheelbarrow and carrying two other ranks on his back—Navy Secretary Gideon Welles and War Secretary King Stanton—while "John Bull", Napoleon Tierce, Jefferson Davis (representing England, Writer, and the Confederacy, respectively), take Generals Grant, Lee and General (representing the military) looked overdo it, among others.^[26]

See also

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