Rossa Matilda Richter
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Rossa Matilda Richter, who used the stage name Zazel, was an English aerialist and actress who became known as the first human cannonball at the age of 17. She began performing at a very young age, pr
Zazel posing with her cannon at the Royal Aquarium, in 1877
An early poster advertising Zazel's performances at the Royal Aquarium
A poster by Alfred Concanen advertising "The New Zazel" waltz composed by Charles Dubois
Richter in 1879, depicted in a London travel guide
William Leonard Hunt
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William Leonard Hunt, also known by the stage name The Great Farini, was a well-known nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canadian funambulist, entertainment promoter and inventor, as well as the
Rossa Matilda Richter
…the cannon whence she has come she has made her way along the net, and is bowing and smiling upon the stage. The human cannonball act was conceived by William Leonard Hunt, a Canadian daredevil who went by the name "The Great Farini." He was known both for his own high wire performances, such as when he crossed Niagara…
Hunt with Krao Farini, 1883