Charles Blondin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Blondin
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Jean François Gravelet
28 February 1824 Hesdin, Pas-de-Calais, France
|
| Died | 22 February 1897 (aged 72) Ealing, London, England
|
| Occupation | Tightrope walker |
| Spouse(s) |
Charlotte Lawrence
(Katherine James
(m. 1895) |
| Children | 8 |
Charles Blondin was a super famous French tightrope walker and acrobat. His real name was Jean François Gravelet. He was born on February 28, 1824, and passed away on February 22, 1897.
Blondin became world-famous for walking across the amazing Niagara Gorge on a tightrope! This rope was 1,100 feet (about 335 meters) long. He did this many times, often in incredible ways. His name became so well-known that people started calling any great tightrope walker a "Blondin."
Contents
Who Was Charles Blondin?
Blondin was born on February 28, 1824, in Hesdin, Pas-de-Calais, France. His birth name was Jean-François Gravelet. But he was known by many other names, like Charles Blondin or "The Great Blondin."
When he was just five years old, he started training at a special acrobat school in Lyon. After only six months, he performed for the public! People called him "The Boy Wonder." He was very skilled and graceful. His acts were also very original, which made him a big favorite with audiences.
Amazing Feats in North America
Blondin moved to the United States in 1855. He performed with a famous group called the Ravel troupe in New York City. He later even owned part of a circus!
He became super famous and rich because of his amazing idea: to cross the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope. The gorge is on the border between Canada and the U.S. The rope was 1,100 feet (335 meters) long and 3.25 inches (8.25 cm) thick. It hung 160 feet (49 meters) above the water!
He first crossed it on June 30, 1859. He did it many times after that, always adding new tricks!
- Sometimes he walked blindfolded.
- Other times, he walked in a sack.
- He even pushed a wheelbarrow across!
- Once, he walked on stilts.
- He carried a man (his manager, Harry Colcord) on his back.
- He even stopped halfway across to cook and eat an omelette!
- Another time, he stood on a chair with only one leg balanced on the rope.
Performances in Britain and Ireland
Blondin also performed in Britain and Ireland. On August 23, 1860, he was performing in Dublin, Ireland. He was on a rope 50 feet (15 meters) above the ground. Sadly, the rope broke, and the scaffolding fell. Blondin was not hurt, but two workers who were on the scaffolding died. An investigation found that the rope itself was faulty.
In 1861, Blondin came to London and performed at the Crystal Palace. He did somersaults on stilts on a rope 70 feet (21 meters) high! He also performed in Edinburgh, Scotland, that same year.
The next year, he was back in Dublin, performing 100 feet (30 meters) above the ground. He gave many other shows across England and Europe. On September 6, 1873, Blondin crossed Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham. There's even a statue built in 1992 to remember this amazing feat!
In October 1869, Blondin performed at the Crystal Palace again. This time, he rode a special bicycle across the long rope! The bicycle had deeply grooved wheels to hold onto the rope.
Even when he was older, Blondin kept performing. On August 3, 1896, at age 71, he walked on a tightrope across Waterloo Lake in Roundhay Park Leeds. He did it several times. On one crossing, he was blindfolded. On another, he stopped to cook and eat an omelette!
Later Life and Passing
After taking a break, Blondin started performing again in 1880. He even starred in a play called Jack and the Beanstalk at the Crystal Palace in 1893–94. His very last performance was in Belfast, Ireland, in 1896.
Charles Blondin passed away from health problems at his home in Ealing, London, on February 22, 1897. He was 72 years old. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
Family Life
Charles Blondin married Marie Blancherie in 1846. They had three children together. We don't know what happened to his French family after he moved to the United States.
In the U.S., he married his second wife, Charlotte Lawrence, in 1852. They had five children together: Adele, Edward, Iris, Henry Coleman, and Charlotte.
In 1895, Blondin married for a third time in the United Kingdom. His third wife was Katherine James. She had helped him recover from a back injury earlier that year. Katherine was much younger than him, but she passed away only four years after him, in 1901, at age 36.
Blondin's Legacy
During his lifetime, Blondin's name became so famous that people started using "Blondin" to describe other tightrope walkers. For example, in the 1880s, there were at least five people in Sydney, Australia, using variations of his name. The most famous was Henri L'Estrange, known as "the Australian Blondin."
Tightrope walking became so popular that one person wrote to a newspaper to complain about "the Blondin business." They saw people walking on high wires everywhere! They even saw someone walking with a child strapped to their back. This person thought it was too dangerous.
Two streets in Northfields, London, are named after him: Blondin Avenue and Niagara Avenue. Blondin Park in the same area is also named after him.
During the 1864 United States presidential election, Abraham Lincoln compared himself to "Blondin on the tightrope." He said he was like Blondin pushing a wheelbarrow with "all that was valuable to America" in it. A political cartoon from that time showed Lincoln on a tightrope, pushing a wheelbarrow and carrying two men on his back!
See also
- Blondin (quarry equipment), a type of aerial ropeway used in quarries, named after Charles Blondin because its high cables look like a tightrope.
