The Flying Wallendas

In 1922, Karl put together his own act with his brother Herman, Joseph Geiger, and a teenage girl, Helen Kreis, who eventually became his wife.

[3] Dieter's sister, Jana Schepp, let go of the wire to fall into the quickly-raised safety net, but bounced off and suffered a head injury.

[4] Wallenda's son-in-law, Richard ("Chico") Guzman, was killed in 1972 after touching a live electric wire while holding part of the metal rigging.

[7] On October 15, 2008, Nik broke the world record for the highest and longest bike ride on a high wire live on NBC's Today.

On November 2, 2014, Nik successfully crossed between two Chicago skyscrapers: the west tower of Marina City and the Leo Burnett Building.

After accomplishing this feat, he successfully crossed the two towers of Marina City while wearing a blindfold in cold conditions with strong winds.

In February 2017, a rehearsal of the troupe's eight-person pyramid high wire act for Circus Sarasota (an attempt at a new Guinness World Record for height) went awry when the pyramid collapsed, plummeting five of the performers to the ground while three others, including Nik Wallenda, managed to cling to the wire.

Miraculously no one was killed, but all five who fell were severely injured: Nik's sister Lijana Wallenda suffered the worst injuries, breaking nearly every bone in her face.

[11] On June 23, 2019, Nik and Lijana became the first individuals to successfully cross New York's Times Square on a tightrope, 25 stories above street level.

[15] Carla Wallenda, the last surviving child of the founder of the troupe, died in Sarasota, Florida, on March 6, 2021, at the age of 85.