Captain Matthew Webb: The First Man to Swim The English Channel Unaided

On 24 August 1875, Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain became the first man to successfully swim the English Channel unaided. This daring feat ensured Captain Webb’s place in the history books and has led to thousands of other intrepid individuals following in his wake. According to records in 2024, a total of 1,881 swimmers have completed 2,428 solo swims of the Channel. Here is the story of his heroic endeavour.

Bravery and talent

Matthew Webb was born in Dawley, Shropshire, in 1848, and joined the merchant service at the age of just 12. His bravery and talent for swimming were soon apparent, and he was awarded a medal for diving into the Atlantic Ocean to try (ultimately unsuccessfully) to save a crewmate who had fallen overboard. Webb worked his way up to the position of Captain of the steamship Emerald, but in 1872 his life was to change forever. Having read about a failed attempt to swim the English Channel by a man called J.B. Johnson, Captain Webb was inspired to try his hand at the challenge. He began training in earnest, practising every day at Lambeth Baths in London, with longer endurance swims along the River Thames. On 12 August 1875, Captain Webb made his first attempt at the Channel swim, but had to abandon the effort after seven hours due to bad weather.

The murky depths

At 12.56pm on 24 August, Captain Webb once again dove into the murky depths of the English Channel from Admiralty Pier in Dover. He had covered himself in porpoise grease to keep warm and was accompanied by three support boats.

Captain Webb stuck to breaststroke throughout his arduous challenge and fortified himself with cod liver oil, beef tea and ale. At one point he was stung by a jellyfish, but he drank a nip of brandy and carried on. He battled with the tide for several hours, being forced to swim in a zigzag fashion, which meant that he swam the equivalent of 39 miles instead of 20.5. At 10.41am on 25 August, Captain Webb finally reached Calais, utterly exhausted, after swimming for 21 hours and 45 minutes.

A hero’s welcome

Captain Webb came home to a hero’s welcome, and his achievement was celebrated all across the world. Indeed, the New York Times reported: ‘From the remotest village in the Highlands, down to the lowest slum in Wapping, there is probably not a soul to whom the name of Captain Webb is unknown.’

Captain Webb continued to take part in swimming challenges, including a six-day endurance event at Lambeth Swimming Baths, which he won. He even spent 60 hours in a glass tank at the Royal Aquarium in Westminster. Sadly though, his thirst for adventure got the better of him, and he died during an attempt to swim across the Niagara River, through the whirlpool rapids, in 1883.

For 36 years, Captain Webb remained the only person to have swum the English Channel unaided, until Thomas William Burgess became the second man to do so in 1911.

Although many hearty individuals have gone on to swim the English Channel, Captain Matthew Webb’s name is synonymous with this feat of endurance. This extraordinary man continues to inspire people today to attempt the impossible and push the boundaries of human endeavour.