Matthew Webb was born in Dawley, Telford back in 1848. At the age of 12 he joined the training ship HMS Conway for two years. Afterwards he joined the merchant navy where he served a three-year apprenticeship. While serving about the Cunard Line ship Russia travelling from New York to Liverpool a man fell overboard. He jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue him however, the man was never found. For his daring rescue attempt he was awarded the Stanhope Medal and became a hero of the British press.
Again in 1863 while he was at home he rescued his 12-year old brother Thomas from drowning in the Severn near Ironbridge. However, on August 24th 1875 he did something no-one else had ever accomplished and therefore be forever written down in the history books for. What was this accomplishment you may ask? Well I’m so glad you did. What he accomplished was he was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel he left the Admiralty Pier at Dover and landed near Calais. He suffered stings from jellyfish and overcame the strong currents off Cap Gris Nez. The crossing took him 21 hours and 45 minutes swimming a zig-zag pattern the swim was over 39 miles long.
The crossing made him an instant overnight success which also made him wealthy. His final stunt was to swim through the Whirlpool Rapids on the Niagara River. By all accounts he made it through the first part of his swim but died in the section of the river located near the entrance to the whirlpool. He is interred in Oakwood Cemetery at Niagara Falls, New York.
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