First human arrow

Under the stage name of Alar the Human Arrow, aka Mary Zedora or Mary Murphy (Frances Elizabeth Mary “Pansy” Murphy) was shot from a giant crossbow 12.19 m (40 ft) through a paper target to a catcher on a trapeze. Mary, of the Flying Zedoras, performed the feat at Barnum & Bailey, USA, in 1896. The stunt was invented and patented by Tony Zedora, though there is no reference to him performing it (as female performers were then seen as more exciting for such explosive stunts). In April 1897 in Madison Square Garden, New York, the crossbow malfunctioned and Mary was knocked out. The press reported the incident with a lurid artist’s impression of her unconscious on a platform above the crowd. Her younger sister Frances took over as Alara in 1902.