William Leonard Hunt

William Leonard Hunt
Hunt with Krao Farini, 1883
Born	(1838-06-10)June 10, 1838 Lockport, New York
Died	January 17, 1929(1929-01-17) (aged 90) Port Hope, Ontario
Nationality	Canadian
Other names	The Great Farini Guillermo Antonio Farini Signor Farini Enrico Farino The Athlete of the World
Occupation	Entertainment promoter

William Leonard Hunt (June 10, 1838 – January 17, 1929), also known by the stage name The Great Farini, was a well-known nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canadian funambulist, entertainment promoter and inventor, as well as the first known white man to cross the Kalahari Desert on foot and survive.

Hunt, the second child of Thomas William Hunt and Hannah Odell, was born in Lockport, New York. His parents were strict disciplinarians, but their punishments had little effect on him; as he later recalled, he “took pleasure in disobeying their commands.” For example, he loved swimming and had an uncommon ability for it. Of his frequent excursions, many of them would be to go swimming. His mother soon forbade him to and sewed up the collars and sleeves of his clothes so that he could not strip for swimming, but that did not stop him; he would just swim with his clothes on and run in the sun until he was dry or rip open his clothes and get some older girls to sew them up for him again. In 1843, Hunt's family moved to Hope Township in Canada, now part of Port Hope, Ontario, and then to Bowmanville, Ontario. While in Bowmanville, Hunt sneaked into a circus that came to town, and became infatuated with the idea of show business. He began developing his muscles and acrobatic talent in secret, and became surprisingly proficient. Soon, he had an idea. He decided to host his own circus in town. It was quite successful, complete with music and various circus entertainment, and he found himself with $6 in his hat, but it ended in a catastrophe. Just about when it was going to end, a bunch of angry parents came storming in, including Willie's father. He claimed that young William had disgraced the whole family and started whipping him. But this just increased Willie's determination. Hunt was apprenticed to a doctor as a young adult. On October 1, 1859, he undertook his first professional high wire performance above the Ganaraska River in Port Hope during the Durham County Agricultural Fair, calling himself Signor Farini (after Luigi Carlo Farini). It was a resounding success, and was followed six days later by a show of strength in the town hall. He began issuing tightrope challenges to Charles Blondin