BLONDIN (1824-1897)  , French tight-rope walker and acrobat, was born at St Omer, France, on the 28th of February 1824 . His real name was Jean Francois Gravelet . When five years old he was sent to the Ecole de Gymnase at Lyons and, after six months' training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as " The Little Wonder." His superior skill and grace as well as the originality of the settings of his acts, made him a popular favourite . He especially owed his celebrity and fortune to his idea of crossing Niagara Falls on a tight-rope, 11oo ft. long, 16o ft. above the water . This he accomplished, first in 1859, a number of times, always with different theatric variations: blindfold, in a sack, trundling a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man on his back, sitting down midway while he made and ate an omelette . In 1861 Blondin first appeared in London, at the Crystal Palace, turning somersaults on stilts on a rope stretched across the central transept, 170 ft. from the ground . In 1862 he again gave a series of performances at the Crystal Palace, and elsewhere in England, and on the continent . After a period of retirement he reappeared in 1880, his final performance being given at Belfast in 1896 . He died at Ealing, London, on the 19th of February 1897 .