August 6

At 7:05 in the morning on the 6th in 1926, Gertrude Caroline Ederle slipped into the water at Cap Gris-Nez, France. She emerged 14 hours, 30 minutes later at Kingsdown, England making her the first woman to swim the English Channel. Her record would stand until August 8, 1950 when Florence May Chadwick swam the channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes.