Matthew Webb
Matthew Webb (born January 19, 1848 in Dawley , Shropshire , † July 24, 1883 at Niagara Falls ) was a British long-distance swimmer . He was the first successful English Channel swimmer . The journey from Dover to Calais took less than 22 hours without aids.
Life
Matthew Webb was one of twelve children of doctor Thomas Webb and his wife Sara. After his birth, the family moved to Coalbrookdale . He himself trained as a seaman on merchant ships in China and the East Indies . In the summer of 1863, near Ironbridge , he saved his twelve-year-old brother Thomas from drowning. In 1874 he received the Stanhope Gold Medal from the Royal Human Society for rescuing a sailor who fell overboard. In 1875 he gave up his life as a seaman and focused only on swimming.
In 1875, Webb was the first person to swim across the English Channel without technical assistance . From August 24 to 25, 1875, he swam the 33-kilometer stretch from Dover to Calais in 21:45 hours. He married Madelaine Kate Chaddock in London on April 27, 1880, with whom he had two children, Matthew junior and Helen.In 1883 he died trying to swim the Whirlpool Rapids of the Niagara River . In 1965 he was posthumously inducted into the international swimming pool 's hall of fame .
Matthew Webb was a member of the Federation of the Freemasons , his Loge Neptune Lodge No. 22 is based in St. John's , Newfoundland .
In 1910 a memorial was erected in his honor in Dover at what is now the Marine Parade . It consists of a bust on a base with a plaque with the inscription: Capt. Matthew Webb Born Dawley 1848 Died Niagra 1883 Swam from Dover to Calais Aug 24-25 1875 Erected by Public Subscription 1910.
Web links
- Matthew Webb in the International Swimming Hall of Fame (English)
- Article on Webb at The Guardian
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Captain Webb memorial, Dover. In: https://www.channelswimmingdover.org.uk . Dover Museum, accessed September 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Short bio Matthew Webb ( Memento of the original from May 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from the Shropshiremining home page. Retrieved October 24, 2012
- ^ Matthew Webb: Adventurers: List of Famous Freemasons . navesinklodge9.org. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Webb, Matthew |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Webb, Matthew Cpt. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British long distance swimmer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 19, 1848 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dawley , Shropshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 24, 1883 |
| Place of death | Niagara River |