FIRST NIAGARA FALLS BARREL SURVIVOR… 1901
Annie Edson Taylor, a widowed teacher from New York, became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and live to tell the tale. Annie was struggling financially when she seized on the idea as a means to secure fame and fortune.
On October 24 1901, her 63rd birthday, Annie climbed into a crudely cushioned oaken barrel (see drawing below) and was set adrift upstream from a row boat. Less than 20 minutes later she was recovered from the bottom of the falls, bleeding from the head but otherwise unscathed.
▪️See Picture of her recovery below.
Annie lived another 20 years, dying in 1921, aged 82.
(The History Channel)
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