Webb Swims the Channel: First Person to Cross

Captain Matthew Webb waded into the water at Dover, England, on August 24, 1875, coated himself in porpoise oil, and began swimming toward France. Twenty-one hours and forty-five minutes later, he staggered ashore near Calais, becoming the first person known to have swum across the English Channel. The feat was considered so extraordinary that no one would repeat it for 36 years. Webb was a 27-year-old merchant navy captain from Shropshire who had become a strong swimmer as a child in the River Severn. He gained public attention in 1873 by diving into the Atlantic to attempt a rescue of a fellow sailor, an act of courage that earned him the Royal Humane Society's medal. Reading about a failed Channel attempt by J.B. Johnson inspired Webb to try it himself. He trained obsessively, including a 20-mile practice swim in the Thames. The Channel presented savage conditions: water temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius, unpredictable tidal currents that could sweep a swimmer miles off course, and the constant risk of jellyfish stings. Webb used the breaststroke exclusively, fed by his support boat crew who passed him beef broth, brandy, coffee, and cod liver oil on a pole. Powerful tides pushed him in a zigzag pattern, meaning he swam nearly 40 miles to cover the 21-mile straight-line distance. At one point, strong currents pushed him backward for over an hour. He was stung repeatedly by jellyfish but refused to quit. Webb became an instant national celebrity. He was awarded prize money, endorsement deals (including a brand of matchboxes bearing his image), and the adulation of Victorian Britain, which viewed the swim as proof of British pluck and physical superiority. Fame consumed him. He attempted increasingly dangerous stunts to maintain public interest, and on July 24, 1883, he tried to swim across the rapids below Niagara Falls. The whirlpool dragged him under, and his body was recovered four days later. Webb was 35. He proved that the Channel could be crossed, but the water does not forgive overconfidence.