Taylor, Anna Edson (c. 1858–c. 1921)

First person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Name variations: Annie Taylor. Born around 1858; died around 1921.

On October 24, 1901, Anna Edson Taylor, a 43-year-old widow and schoolteacher from Bay City, Michigan, who could not swim, went over the 167' high Horseshoe Falls (on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls) in a 4½'x3" barrel. Taylor, who had a cooper build the conveyance, was protected by cushions inside the barrel, which was kept in an upright position by a blacksmith's anvil that weighed 100 pounds. A rubber hose connected to a small opening near the lid provided sufficient air to breathe.

The Pan American Exposition was in progress at the time and Niagara Falls was filled with tourists anxious to witness the event. Although the local coroner tried to dissuade Taylor from the attempt, she maintained that if the authorities tried to stop her, she would jump to her death over the Falls instead. The money that would reward her for going over the Falls was needed to pay off a debt.

The event began when a boat towed Taylor and the barrel to an area near Grass Island on the Niagara River. At 4:05 pm, the towing line was severed, and the barrel moved rapidly toward the brink of the Falls. At 4:23 pm, the barrel balanced briefly at the top before plummeting over the precipice. It took a minute to resurface several hundred yards below the Falls and was recovered 17 minutes later and sawed open. Taylor, who had been knocked unconscious, was still dazed when she emerged, bleeding from a gash (some sources say on her forehead and others say behind her ear), and suffering bruises but no broken bones. When she was finally able to speak, she warned others against "the foolish thing I have done." Since then six men have attempted the same ride over the Falls, but only three have survived. Anna Edson Taylor died penniless at age 83.

sources:

Felton, Bruce, and Mark Fowler. Felton & Fowler's Famous Americans You Never Knew Existed. NY: Stein and Day, 1979.

Griffin, Lynn, and Kelly McCann. The Book of Women: 300 Notable Women History Passed By. Holbrook, MA: Bob Adams, 1992.

Read, Phyllis J., and Bernard L. Witlieb. The Book of Women's Firsts. NY: Random House, 1992.

Karina L. Kerr , M.A., Ypsilanti, Michigan