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Paul Boyton (often misspelled Boynton; 29 June 184818 April 1924), known as the Fearless Frogman, was a showman and adventurer some credit as having spurred worldwide interest in water sports as a hobby, particularly open-water swimming. Boyton is best known for his water stunts that captivated the world, including crossing the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
in a novel rubber suit that functioned similarly to a
kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...
. As the founder of Sea Lion Park in 1895, Boyton is also known as the originator of the first modern amusement park—a permanent, fenced-in enclosure charging admission at the gate.


Early life and education

Paul Boyton was born on 29 June 1848 in
Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
to Terrance and Marie Boyton, and grew up in Pennsylvania. Boyton learned to swim at a young age in Pittsburgh, and used his skills to save his friends from drowning. He attended Saint Francis University,
Loretto, Pennsylvania Loretto is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census it had a population of 1,302. Like the rest of Cambria County, it is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Johnstown Metropolita ...
. He served as a sailor for the Union in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, fought against
Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (; ; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian archduke who became Emperor of Mexico, emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Restored Republic (Mexico), Mexican Republ ...
during the fall of his empire, and fought with the French franc-tireurs during the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
. Boyton then became head of the New Jersey Life-Saving Service, where he reduced the number of drownings per year from twenty to none. Later in his life, he referred to himself as "Captain Boyton", but there is no evidence that he ever was one. Boyton was very arrogant. One time, a man he saved from drowning gave him a fifty cent note. However, he handed forty-nine cents back and said "I could not think of taking a cent more than your life is worth".


Expeditions


Merriman life-saving suit exhibitions

While in Atlantic City, Jersey, Boyton began toying with a rubber suit invented by Clark S. Merriman as a life-saving device for steamship passengers. This first
immersion suit An immersion suit, also known as a survival suit, is a type of waterproof dry suit intended to protect the wearer from hypothermia if immersed in cold water or otherwise exposed after abandoning a vessel, especially in the open ocean. Immersion ...
, which would become Boyton's trademark, was essentially a pair of rubber pants and shirt cinched tight at the waist. Within the suit were air pockets the wearer could inflate at will using tubes. Similar to modern-day
drysuit A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated ...
s, the suit also kept its wearer dry. This essentially allowed the wearer to float on his back, using a double-sided paddle to propel himself, feet-forward. The suit had a rubber bag attached, which was intended to be used as storage for survival essentials such as food and water. A small sail could also be attached to the foot.


Early exhibitions

Originally, there was little public interest in the suit. With the hope to improve this, Boyton wanted to paddle from 250 miles off the coast of New York onto the shore, but could not find a single ship's captain that would take him out. Undeterred, Merriman invited Boyton to Ireland, where Boyton exhibited the suit to increase its publicity. Boyton once again intended to swim to shore from 200 miles out at sea, but this time, Boyton did not tell the captain of his intentions, and so the captain was furious when he found Boyton on the side of the ship with his suit on about to jump in the water. Despite this, Boyton managed to convince the captain to drop him 2.5 miles out, where from Boyton paddled for 15 hours against the violent wind and waves of the storm to the Irish coast. By the time he got to shore, Boyton had his vision seriously impaired by the salt water, and thanked the "great pilot above", before sending a telegram to the captain that dropped him off, and the ''
New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...
''. Word had already spread about what he was doing, and the '' Cork Examiner'' called the exploit the "sensation of the day". Boyton's following shows in Queenstown Harbour and around Dublin were extremely popular, so much so that he was sent an invitation to meet
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and
Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of King Ch ...
on a yacht near the Isle of Wight, which he accepted. By the time Boyton left Dublin, the newspapers estimated that over 100,000 people had attended his shows. During the Christmas of 1874, Boyton sent a message to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', where he used the recent sinking of the ''Cospatrick'' as an example of why Merriman's suit could save lives. Boyton's final exhibition before the channel crossing, was to perform with the suit in the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
.


Channel crossing

Boyton's toughest swim in the suit was a channel crossing. Before his first attempt, Queen Victoria and the American Minister General Schenck telegraphed Boyton to ask whether the wind was for or against him. On 10 April at 15:20, Boyton entered the water and began paddling himself feet first to France. The Z-shaped navigation course was handled by the French pilot François Méquin. During the swim, Boyton made use of the sail attached to the suit, which allowed the wind to carry him some of the way. Aboard the boat following Boyton were reporters from the ''Standard'', ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', ''
The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...
'', ''The Times'', '' Bell's Life'', the ''New York Herald'', ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'', '' The Daily News'' and ''
The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company, Illustrated Newspapers Ltd with Thomas's brother, Lewis Samuel Thomas, as a co-founder. The Graphic was set up as ...
''. When the weather got tough, and night loomed, Méquin demanded that the attempt be abandoned. Upon boarding the boat, Boyton was around 6 miles from Cap Gris-Nez. Boyton entered the water at Cap Gris-Nez for his second attempt on 28 May at 03:00, accompanied by the ''Prince Ernest'' and captained by Edward Dane. By 06:00, Boyton was 5 miles from the French coast, and at 11:45, he was halfway. At 18:30, Boyton was 4 miles from Dover, and by 02:30, he had laded at Fan Bay, near the
Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pas ...
. He completed the swim in around 23 hours. After the swim, Boyton's was looked after by two doctors, and he was pronounced well enough to receive the congratulations of the nation. Boyton was sent telegrams by Queen Victoria, President Grant and Albert Edward (then
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
) congratulating him. The swim was subsequently reported on by the '' Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News''.


Further exhibitions

Before leaving England, Boyton umpired a race from Putney to Hammersmith down the Thames, where all the competitors were paddling in Merriman's suits. The competition was won by Mr. Whalley. On 23 August, Boyton performed one final time in England with the suit at Folkestone Harbour, before leaving for Germany. Boyton made numerous further expeditions in this suit, swimming up and down rivers across America and Europe to publicize its uses. Boyton would tow a small boat behind him in which he carried his supplies and personal possessions, and sometimes invited newspaper reporters to accompany him. A canny publicist, Boyton's arrival in small river towns was often heralded by great fanfare. Among his exploits were: paddled Rhine 430 miles (1875); Alton, Ill. to St. Louis, Mo. on the Mississippi (1876) and same year Bayou Goula to New Orleans, 100 miles in 24 hours; 400 miles on the Danube in six days (1876); navigated all important rivers of the continent, passed through canals of Venice and crossed the straits of Gibraltar; returned to the U.S. and floated from Oil City, Pa. to the Gulf of Mexico—2,342 miles in 80 days. In September 1879, professional swimmer Matthew Webb competed for the Championship of the World against Paul Boyton. Webb won but was accused of cheating and so the prize money was withheld. His longest voyage was in 1881 when he started at Glendive, Mont. and ended at St. Louis, Mo., 1,675 miles.


Rivalry with Matthew Webb

On 25 August 1875, Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel without any artificial aid. Although Boyton crossed the channel in Merriman's suit, while Webb did it in only his red swimming trunks, sporting and stunting achievements were compared more often at the time, which led to the public and Webb and Boyton considering themselves as rivals. Five years later, in 1880, both Boyton and Webb happened to be near Newport beach. They both agreed to a public race, and deposited $1,000 each into the prize pool. Newport casino owner James Garden Bennett also contributed $1,000 which brought the total prize pool to $3,000. Two white buoys were placed half a mile apart, with Webb tasked with swimming around them twenty times in regular swimming trunks, and Boyton tasked with swimming around them twenty-five times with his suit. Formal rule agreements were signed by both, and the swim commenced. There was a large crowd gathered on the beach, and Boyton got off to a very fast start. Unfortunately for Webb, he got a severe cramp which ended his race, while Boyton simply cruised to the finish. Webb quickly challenged Boyton to a rematch, which he accepted. Their second race took place at
Nantasket Beach Nantasket Beach is a beach in the town of Hull, Massachusetts. It is part of the Nantasket Beach Reservation, administered by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The shore has fine, light gray sand and is one of the most highl ...
, and was advertised as the "Championship of the world". Since fanfare was even greater on their second meeting, the prize pool was even higher at $4,000. In this race, Boyton had to travel between three buoys, while Webb only had to travel between two. After the race was postponed several times, it eventually went ahead on September 6. The details of the race are unclear, but the referee refused to declare a winner and later accused Webb of cheating by swimming to shore and running across the beach. Webb, backed up by Hartley defended himself, and it was later found out that the referee was Boyton's fiancée's dad, indicating that he was probably biased. Boyton challenged Webb again, via a letter to the New York Herald that offered him even greater odds. However Webb did not reply.


Later showmanship

In 1885, Boyton was involved in the fatal leap from
Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...
of Robert Emmet Odlum, brother of women's rights activist Charlotte Odlum Smith. Catherine Odlum, mother of Robert and Charlotte, blamed Boyton for her son's death. Boyton wrote Mrs. Odlum a letter disclaiming responsibility, which he also published in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and other periodicals. Mrs. Odlum subsequently traveled to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to see Boyton. According to her account, Boyton sent two men to see her who claimed to be a lawyer and a judge, and who warned her not to say anything against Boyton to avoid prosecution for
slander Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...
. Catherine Odlum claimed in the biography she wrote of her son that Boyton hid or destroyed letters and telegrams from himself to Robert Odlum urging him to travel to New York and make the Brooklyn Bridge jump.Stanley, Autumn (2009). ''Raising More Hell and Fewer Dahlias: The Public Life of Charlotte Smith, 1840-1917'',
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
:
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.
After the incident, Boyton left New York City and formed an aquatic circus, touring as the main act in
P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...
's circus during 1887. He settled in Chicago in 1888 and noted the success of the attractions Midway at Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1892. Building on this, in 1894, he opened the first "permanent"
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
(Paul Boyton's Water Chutes) in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, which was also the first park of any type to charge an admission. The following year, he bought of land and opened the Sea Lion Park on
Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...
in 1895. He fenced the property and charged admission, an innovation at the time. It would later become Coney Island Amusement Park. Boyton and his
sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...
s also performed in silent films including '' Feeding Sea Lions''. In 1902, Boyton sold Sea Lion Park to Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy, who redesigned the park and renamed it Luna Park, the first of many of that name to come. Paul Boyton's Water Chutes was permanently closed in 1908, a casualty of increased competition from White City amusement parks, Electric Parks, and Luna Parks that arose in the dozen-plus years after the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
. Boyton's rubber suit was featured by
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
in '' Tribulations of a Chinaman in China'' as a life saver for the hero and his three companions. Boyton is a member of the
International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...
.


References


Sources

* *


External links


Story of Paul Boyton (1892)
*

at Heart of Coney Island


Paul BOYTON's Chronology from the New York Times archives by M. LOPEZ



Genealogy

Captain Paul Boyton
blog (author of ''Roughing it in Rubber'')
Patent
of Clark S. Merriman's inflatable flotation suit *


See also

*
James Creelman James Creelman (November 12, 1859 – February 12, 1915) was a Canadian-American writer famous for securing a 1908 interview for '' Pearson's Magazine'' with Mexican president Porfirio Díaz, in which the strongman said that he would not run ...
*
List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame is a history museum and hall of fame, serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around the world. List of the members of the International Swimming Hall ...
* The Chutes of San Francisco {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyton, Paul 1840s births 1924 deaths American stunt performers United States Life-Saving Service personnel Saint Francis University alumni People from County Kildare Irish emigrants to the United States English Channel swimmers