Philippe Petit is a French highwire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized highwire walks between the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on the morning of 7 August 1974.
Petit in 2009
In this 1974 promotion for Hess's department store, Petit tight roped across Hamilton Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Petit's highwire walk between the Twin Towers
Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope walking and slacklining.
The feet of a tightrope walker
Tightrope walking, Armenian manuscript, 1688
Maria Spelterini crossing Niagara Falls on July 4, 1876
Jultagi, the Korean tradition of tightrope walking