Template:Did you know nominations/Matthew Webb

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... that Matthew Webb swam for nearly 22 hours to become the first person to cross the English Channel unaided?

Source: Seccombe, Thomas (1899). "Webb, Matthew" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 60. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 105: "At the beginning of August 1875 public interest was greatly aroused by the announcement that Webb intended to attempt the feat of swimming across the English Channel without any artificial aid. The attempt made by J. B. Johnson to swim the straits in August 1872 had ended in a fiasco. On 28 May 1875 Captain Paul Boyton, the American life-saving expert, had, after one failure, successfully accomplished the feat of paddling across the Straits when clothed in his patent dress; but although the journey demonstrated the great value of the dress, the paddle in itself was mere child's play in comparison with the task which Webb set himself to accomplish. His first attempt on 12 Aug. was a failure, owing to the fact that he drifted upwards of nine miles out of his proper course in consequence of the strong current and the stress of weather. Twelve days later he dived from the Admiralty Pier, Dover, a few seconds before one o'clock in the afternoon (31/4 hours before high water on a 15 ft. 10 in. tide), and swimming through the night by a three-quarter moon reached Calais at 10.40 A.M. next morning (25 Aug.), having been immersed for nearly twenty-two hours, and having swum a distance of about forty miles without having touched a boat or artificial support of any kind."

ALT1: ... that Matthew Webb died attempting to swim down the Niagara Rapids? Source: Watson, Kathy (2001). The crossing: the glorious tragedy of the first man to swim the English channel. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 1-58542-109-X: 223-224, 230 (link to fulltext in article sources)
Reviewed:

Improved to Good Article status by It is a wonderful world (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

It is a wonderful world (talk) 08:42, 5 October 2024 (UTC).