Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Today In History with The Retrospectors
Episode: The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
Description: Jules Leotard first somersaulted off a trapeze at Cirque Napoléon in Paris on 12th November, 1859. His act inspired gymnasts and circus performers the world over - although Leotard is now best remembered as the inventor of the skin-tight outfits he wore on stage.
Leotard had abandoned his studies as a lawyer to perfect his circus skills, spurred on by his acrobatic father. He developed his act into a twelve-minute trapeze routine with only a heap of mattresses to break his fall.Â
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca perve over old photos of Leotard’s ph...