Capt. Matthew Webb Swims the English Channel

Then Dies in Niagara Falls Attempt

N.B.  An Australian researcher has informed me that the Matthew Webb here was not related to the Hargreaves, and I believe him.

Matthew Webb, cousin of Eliza Mary Webb who married James Hargreaves, son of our HENRY HARGREAVES was the first person to swim the English Channel, 24-5 Aug 1875. He attained great fame in his time, but died a tragic death 24 Jul 1883, attempting to swim the river below Niagara Falls. The principal reference is a biography of Matthew Webb:

    The Crossing, by Kathy Watson, Jeremy P Tarcher/Putnam, New York, 2000

Capt. Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English Channel. It made him very famous, and he spent much of the rest of his short life defending his "championship" and competing with challengers in an assortment of swimming challenges. These all took a toll on his body and made him but little money. He married and had two children, and looking for more money to support them, came up with the idea of swimming, again for the first time, across the Niagara River just below the Niagara Falls. He was dashed to death, apparently in the giant whirlpool there, wearing the same red swimming suit he had worn during his big triumph swimming the Channel.

He was born in Dawley, Shropshire, England, and is buried in Oakland Cemetery near Niagara Falls.

Here are some indicative quotes from the cover of Watson's book:

"An absorbing account of courage, ambition, and early success - followed by a swift decline into desperation and tragedy." - Kirkus Reviews

"An affectionate, acutely observed life of Webb that brings his achievement into sharp focus after more than a century of neglect." - The Sunday Times (London)