The greatest height at which an acrobatic performance ever took place was nearly 3,000 feet. An American aeronaut, Prof. Bartholomew, in 1889 at Melbourne, having ascended by a balloon to a height of 3,000 feet, made his ascent in a trapeze attached to a parachute, and during the descent performed a number of acrobatic and gymnastic feats. A cyclist, some time since, ascended at Charleroi, France, by a balloon in charge of Capt. Dennis, to which was suspended his bicycle. He worked the wheels of the machine as though he were riding along a road instead of being suspended at a height of about 1,300 feet. M. Blondin gave an acrobatic performance at the crystal palace, London, in 1862, on a rope 249 yards long, and 172 feet from the ground. On June 30, 1859, he crossed the Falls of Niagara on a tight rope in five minutes; on the Fourth of July he repeated the performance blindfold, trundling a wheelbarrow, and on Aug. 19 of the same year he carried a man on his back. On Sept. 14, 1860, he crossed on stilts in the presence of the Prince of Wales. His feats on the tight rope were extraordinary — he walked across enveloped in a sack made of blankets, turned somersaults and cooked dinner.
According to Australian Baseball History, Prof. Bartholomew parachuted over Melbourne in support of a tour by the Amercian baseball promoter Albert Spalding. Sounds incredibly exciting, doesn’t it?