Today in History: Gone with the Tightrope!

Movie poster of Gone with the Wind

A week ago, on June 23rd, 2013, American acrobat, Nik Wallenda, walked on a right rope across the Grand Canyon. However, on this day in 1859, a Frenchman named Jean-Francois Fravelet, professionally known as Emile Blondin, becomes the first to walk across Niagara Falls on tightrope. 5,000 spectators held their breath in anticipation as Blondin croseed the 1,100 ft rope 160 feet about the ground.

Gone with the Wind, if you adjust the price for inflation, is actually the world's most highly grossed movie of all time. Today in history, the book, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, was published in 1936. Mitchell wrote this book with much time on her hands after serious injury. At first it gained in popularity in Atlanta, where Mitchell lived, but soon spread out to become an award winning novel.

Image from Sandy Koufax's first no-hitter

Another quick event today in history was Sandy Koufax's first no-hitter in 1962. Koufax struck out 13 batters, but walked five for a Brooklyn Dodgers 5-0 victory over the New York Mets. He also threw three more no-hitters in his career, including Major League Baseball's eighth perfect game.