| 1838 |
"The Great Farini" (William Hunt of Port Hope, Ontario) is born. Although best known for his high wire performances, Farini is considered by many to be the inventor of the "human cannonball" act. |
| 1871 |
Farini patents a device for launching "human projectiles". Based on a system of rubber springs, it is not enclosed in a cannon barrel. |
| 1873 |
A young man named "Lulu" is the first to try Farini's invention. The act is called the "Lulu Leap" and features the performer jumping 12 m (40 ft.) into the air. |
| 1875 |
George Loyal, a performer with the Yankee Robinson Circus, becomes the first person to be fired from a cannon. |
| 1879 |
Entrepreneur William Leonard Smith patents the cannon design. |
| 1877 |
Farini, as the entertainment manager of the Royal Westminster Aquarium, introduces human cannonball "Zazel", who is really a 14-year-old acrobat named Rosa Richter. |
| 1882 |
Farini and Zazel appear in P.T. Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth". |
| 1890s |
The public loses interest in "human cannonball" acts. Other mechanical thrills like "Diavolo" loop-the-loop bicycle acts become popular. |
| 1920s |
Paul Leinert and several other European performers and inventors further develop and improve the cannon design. |
| 1929 |
John Ringling sees the Zacchini family perform their human cannonball act in Europe and brings them to America. The father, Ildebrando Zacchini, creates a new cannon powered by compressed air, accompanied by smoke and a loud charge. |
| 1932 |
Mario and Emanuel Zacchini (two of Ildebrando's seven sons) invent a double cannon that fires two people in rapid succession. |
| 1939 |
The Zacchinis leave Ringling Circus and open their own travelling carnival. Their new act sometimes features both men being fired over the top of two Ferris wheels. |
| 1940 |
Mario retires after sustaining severe injuries during a performance at the World's Fair in New York. |
| 1995 |
David Smith Sr. breaks the distance record set by the Zacchinis. Smith is shot 54.97 m (180 ft., 4 in.) at a performance in Manville, New Jersey. |
| 1998 |
David Smith Sr. and Jr. perform in a "Duelling Cannons" event for the Guinness Book of World Records. Smith Sr. breaks his own earlier record with a shot of 56.64 m (185 ft., 10 in.), while his son successfully completes a shot of 55.19 m (181 ft., 1 in.). |
