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Jean Lussier

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TNstingray (talk | contribs) at 13:52, 20 October 2020 (Added a picture I took at a museum in Canada for reference. Just filling out the history of this man with a visual reference. Please remove if this does not meet Wikipedia's standards (this is my first attempt at adding photos to an article).). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Signed picture of Jean Lussier after his successful daredevil stunt.
Joseph Albert "Jean" Lussier
Born1891
Concord, New Hampshire or Quebec, Canada
Died1971
Niagara Falls, New York
NationalityCanadian/American
Occupation(s)machinist, daredevil
Known for4th person to go over Niagara Falls, first to go over in rubber ball

Joseph Albert "Jean" Lussier (1891–1971) was a Canadian-American daredevil, best known for going over the Horseshoe Falls on July 4, 1928.

Early life

Joseph Albert Lussier, better known as Jean, was born in 1891 in either Concord, New Hampshire or Quebec, Canada.

Stunt

Unlike the daredevils who had gone over the Falls previously in wooden barrels, Lussier designed and built a 6 ft rubber ball lined with oxygen tubes. The recent death of daredevil Charles Stephens (who went over the falls in a barrel) did not deter Lussier, but instead motivated him even more to try his own unique version of the stunt. On July 4, 1928, Lussier took the plunge over the falls. Despite the damage sustained by the ball, Lussier emerged relatively unscathed, with only minor bruising from the impact. Lussier successfully became the fourth daredevil to go over Niagara Falls, and the third to survive.

Later life

Capitalizing on his newfound fame and notoriety, Lussier moved to Niagara Falls and began selling pieces of the ball to tourists. Once he ran out, he later used pieces of tires. In 1952, when Lussier was 61 years old, he dreamed of becoming the only person to go over both of the major Niagara Falls. He started making plans to make his second daredevil stunt and go over the American Falls in a larger and more complex rubber ball. Unfortunately, his dreams never materialized, and he retired in 1958 at the age of 67. Lussier died of natural causes in 1971 at the age of 80.[1]

References

  1. ^ "History of Niagara Falls Daredevils - Jean Lussier". Niagara Falls Info. 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2020-04-26.


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