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Paul Boyton

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Paul Boyton
Bornc. 1848
Dublin or Pittsburgh
Died1924 (aged 75–76)
New York City
Alma materSaint Francis University
OccupationShowman
Years activec. 1870s – 1902
Notable workSea Lion Park, Coney Island
Chutes Park, San Francisco

Paul Boyton (often misspelled Boynton; c. 1848 – 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, whose birthplace is variously listed as Dublin or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is best known for his water stunts that captivated the world, including crossing the English Channel in a novel rubber suit that functioned similarly to a kayak.[citation needed] As the founder of Sea Lion Park in 1895, Boyton is also known as the originator of the first modern amusement park with a fenced-in enclosure and admission charged at the gate.[1]

Early life and education

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Boyton learned to swim at a young age in Pittsburgh, and used his skills to save his friends from drowning.[2]

He attended Saint Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania.[3]

He served as a sailor for the Union in the American Civil War, fought against Maximilian I of Mexico during the fall of his empire, and fought with the French franc-tireurs during the Franco-Prussian War.[4] Boyton then became head of the New Jersey Life-Saving Service, where he saved reduced the number of drownings per year from twenty to none.[5][6] Later in his life, he referred to himself as "Captain Boyton", but there is no evidence that he ever was one.[7]

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".[5]

Expeditions

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Merriman life-saving suit exhibitions

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Patent diagram of C. S. Merriman's suit

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, 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.[citation needed] Similar to modern-day drysuits, 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.[citation needed] 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.[8]

Early exhibitions

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Merriman invited Boyton to England, where Boyton exhibited the suit to increase it's publicity.[6] His first stunt was to paddle with the suit seven miles in the Atlantic Ocean, finishing on the Irish coast. He then performed further swims off the coast of Ireland, in the River Thames, and at Osborne in front of Queen Victoria.[9]

Channel crossing

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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.[10] At 15:20, Boyton entered the water and began paddling himself feet first to France.[11] The Z-shaped navigation course was handled by the French pilot François Méquin.[12] During the swim, Boyton made use of the sail attached to the suit, which allowed the wind to carry him some of the way.[13] Aboard the boat following Boyton were reporters from the Standard, The Observer, The Illustrated London News, The Times, Bell's Life, the New York Herald, The Telegraph, The Daily News and The Graphic.[14] When the weather got tough, and night loomed, Méquin demanded that the attempt be abandoned.[15]

Further exhibitions

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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.[citation needed] 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.[16] 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.[17] His longest voyage was in 1881 when he started at Glendive, Mont. and ended at St. Louis, Mo., 1,675 miles.[citation needed]

Rivalry with Matthew Webb

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On August 25 1875, Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel without any artificial aid.[18] 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.[19]

Later showmanship

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In 1885, Boyton was involved in the fatal leap from Brooklyn Bridge 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 and other periodicals. Mrs. Odlum subsequently traveled to New York City 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. 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.[20][21][22]

After the incident, Boyton left New York City and formed an aquatic circus, touring as the main act in P. T. Barnum's circus during 1887.[23] He settled in Chicago in 1888 and noted the success of the attractions Midway at Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1892.[23] Building on this, in 1894, he opened the first "permanent" amusement park (Paul Boyton's Water Chutes) in Chicago, which was also the first park of any type to charge an admission. The following year, he bought 16 acres (65,000 m2) of land and opened the Sea Lion Park on Coney Island in 1895. He fenced the property and charged admission, an innovation at the time.[1] It would later become Coney Island Amusement Park. Boyton and his sea lions also performed in silent films including Feeding Sea Lions.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Boyton's rubber suit was featured by Jules Verne in Tribulations of a Chinaman in China as a life saver for the hero and his three companions.[citation needed]

Boyton is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b Mangels, W.F. (1952). The Outdoor Amusement Industry: From Earliest Times to the Present. New York: Vantage Press. p. 38.
  2. ^ Dolphin 1875, p. 28.
  3. ^ Boyton, Paul. "The story of Paul Boyton. Voyages on All the Great Rivers of the World": 13 and Sullivan, Colleen. "Captain Paul Boyton Roughing It In Rubber": 10.
  4. ^ Dolphin 1875, p. 28-29.
  5. ^ a b Watson 2001, p. 80.
  6. ^ a b Dolphin 1875, p. 29.
  7. ^ Watson 2001, p. 75.
  8. ^ Watson 2001, p. 76.
  9. ^ Dolphin 1875, pp. 29–30.
  10. ^ Dolphin 1875, p. 31.
  11. ^ Dolphin 1875, p. 32.
  12. ^ Dolphin 1875, p. 34.
  13. ^ Dolphin 1875, p. 36.
  14. ^ Dolphin 1875, p. 36-37.
  15. ^ Dolphin 1875, pp. 41–42.
  16. ^ Irving, Joseph (1879). "Captain Boyton". The Annals of Our Time from March 20, 1874, to the Occupation of Cyprus. London: Macmillan. p. 24.
  17. ^ Peel, Malcolm. "Matthew Webb biography". Dawley Heritage Group. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  18. ^ Mason, Paul (10 October 2013). "Heroes of swimming: Captain Matthew Webb". The Swimming Blog. The Guardian.
  19. ^ Watson 2001, pp. 80–81.
  20. ^ Catherine Odlum (1885). The Life and Adventures of Prof. Robert Emmet Odlum, Containing an Account of his Splendid Natatorium at the National Capital. Gray and Clarkson.
  21. ^ "Odlum's Fatal Leap". The New York Times. 7 June 1885. p. 1. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  22. ^ Stanley, Autumn (2009). Raising More Hell and Fewer Dahlias: The Public Life of Charlotte Smith, 1840-1917, Bethlehem: Lehigh University Press. ISBN 978-0-934223-99-7
  23. ^ a b David A. Sullivan. "Captain Paul Boyton and Sea Lion Park". www.heartofconeyisland.com. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  24. ^ "Honorees: Paul Boyton (USA)". International Swimming Hall of Fame. Retrieved 6 December 2015.

Sources

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  • Dolphin (1875). The Channel Feats of Captain Webb and Captain Boyton. 160A, Fleet Street, London: Dean & Son.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
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See also

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