On This Date

On Aug. 7, 1974, Frenchman Philippe Petit illegally performed a tightrope act between the two towers of New York City’s World Trade Center. The 24-year-old spent 45 minutes on the wire, which hung more than 1,300 feet in the air. Petit made eight crossings between the two towers before police coaxed him off the rope and back onto solid ground. He was arrested afterward.

Click the video player below to watch a newscast from that day.