Bobby Leach (born

Lancaster, England Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, altho ...

; 1858 – April 28, 1926) was the second person and first man to go over

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

in a barrel, accomplishing the feat on July 25, 1911 — while Annie Taylor did it on October 24, 1901. He spent six months in hospital recovering from injuries he sustained during the fall, which included two broken knee caps and a fractured jaw. Leach had been a performer with the

Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling, is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth ...

and was no stranger to stunting. After watching a stuntman die attempting to dive from a platform over 150 feet (45 m) into a pool 5 feet (1.5 m) deep, he made the dive successfully. Prior to his trip over the falls he owned a restaurant on Bridge Street and would boast to customers that anything Annie could do, he could do better. Leach utilized a steel barrel to achieve the feat. Leach returned to Niagara Falls, New York, in 1920 and operated a pool hall. While in his sixties he attempted to swim the whirlpool rapids but failed after several attempts. During these aborted attempts, Bobby Leach was rescued by William "Red" Hill Sr., a riverman, who knew the Falls well and became well known in the area for later rescues. In 1926, while on a publicity tour in New Zealand, Leach injured his leg when he slipped on an orange peel. The leg became infected, and eventually

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

necessitated the amputation of the leg. Leach died of complications two months later.

In popular culture

* In the Season 2 of

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

's adaptation of ''

Horrible Histories ''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more. In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpo ...

'', Bobby Leach is played by

Jim Howick James Howick (born 14 May 1979) is an English actor and writer, known for his appearances in television series such as ''Sex Education'', ''Peep Show'', '' Stag'', and '' Here We Go'', as well as his ongoing association with the creative collect ...

and is described by the Reaper (played by

Simon Farnaby Simon Farnaby (born 2 April 1973) is an English actor, comedian, children’s entertainer, writer and singer. He is best known for his work with the Them There collective where he has written and starred in productions including the sketch show ...

) as "another stupid

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

swimmer", referring to Bobby's fellow countryman and colleague,

Matthew Webb Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was an English seaman, swimmer and stuntman who became the first person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. Webb increased the popularity of swimming in Engl ...

(also played by

in the Season 1) and Matthew's death in the

* In Primus' song from the Brown Album, 'Over the Falls', the plot describes a man who is strapping himself into a metal capsule and preparing for his descent over the falls in an attempt at fame. The song's music video includes an exact recreation of the metal capsule that Robert Leach had made.

Notes

External links

Info NiagaraImages from the Niagara Falls Public Library (Ont.)
*https://web.archive.org/web/20080723192615/http://reservationsystems.com/niagara_daredevils/bobby_leach.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Bobby 1858 births 1926 deaths People who went over Niagara Falls Burials at Hillsborough Cemetery, Auckland Deaths from gangrene Infectious disease deaths in New Zealand 20th-century English people 20th-century circus performers