In this task, we ask you to rewrite a sentence in simple English without changing its general meaning. Essentially, you want to make the sentence easier to read by using simpler words, utilizing more straightforward sentence structures, and omitting non-essential information etc.

George Ritchie Hodgson ( October 12 , 1893 – May 1 , 1983 ) was a Canadian competition swimmer of the early 20th century , and considered by many to be the greatest swimmer in Canadian history .
George Ritchie Hodgson ( October 12 , 1893 – May 1 , 1983 ) was a Canadian swimmer .