Historedia
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First Unassisted Channel Swim

When
24–25 August 1875
Where
Strait of Dover
Part of
Captain Matthew Webb first to swim the English Channel

Captain Matthew Webb completed the first observed and unassisted swim across the English Channel from Dover to Cap Gris-Nez in August 1875.

Webb swam from Dover, England, to Cap Gris-Nez, France, on 24–25 August 1875. The crossing took 21 hours and 45 minutes. This was his second attempt at the Channel, following earlier preparations and financial backing efforts. The swim established the origins of Channel swimming.

Sources

  1. English Channel Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26
  2. Matthew Webb Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-25

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.