Jules Léotard performs the first high-flying trapeze act at the Cirque Napoléon in Paris

Twenty-one year old Jules Léotard caused a sensation at the Cirque Napoleon in Paris when he first performed his twelve minute high-flying trapeze act. He had perfected the routine at his father's gymnasium in Toulouse, rigging trapezes from the ceiling and swinging over the swimming pool to avoid back-breaking falls. Leotard toured London and New York, had a popular song written about him, and gave his name to the one piece costume that he wore. After revolutionizing the circus, he died of smallpox in 1870. (By John Osborne)