At which location did Captain Matthew Webb die in 1883?
Matthew Webb through the Whirlpool Rapids on the Niagara River below Niagara Falls, a feat many observers considered suicidal. Although Webb failed in an attempt at raising interest in funding the event, on 24 July 1883, he jumped into the river from a small boat located near the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge and began his swim. Accounts of the time indicate that in all likelihood Webb successfully survived the first part of the swim, but died in the section of the river located near the entrance to the whirlpool. Webb was interred in Oakwood Cemetery, Niagara Falls, New York. In 1909, Webb's
Matthew Webb at Coalbrookdale. Webb House of the Adams' Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire, is named after Webb. John Betjeman's poem "A Shropshire Lad" (1940) commemorates the death of Captain Webb, portraying his ghost swimming back along the canal to Dawley. It was set to music by Jim Parker and was recorded by folk singer John Kirkpatrick. Captain Webb's picture on boxes of Bryant and May matches is said to have inspired the physical appearance of the Inspector Clouseau character portrayed originally in the "Pink Panther" films by Peter Sellers. Matthew Webb Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883)