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Stephens, from Bristol in the UK, went over the falls in a barrel. Both Bobby Leach (q.v) and William "Red" Hill, Sr. urged Stephens to test his barrel over the falls before attempting the stunt, but he refused. When the barrel was recovered at the foot of the falls, the ballast had broken through the bottom of the barrel, and had pulled ...
Annie Edson Taylor (October 24, 1838 – April 29, 1921) was an American schoolteacher who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. [1]
Steven Trotter (November 13, 1960 – October 14, 2022) was an American daredevil who at age 24 became the youngest person to have gone over Niagara Falls in a barrel. He was one of a few people to perform the stunt twice. He also performed other illegal stunts. [2] [3] He died unexpectedly in 2022. [1]
Soucek prepared for his 1984 Niagara Falls stunt by researching previous attempts, by sending unmanned barrels over the falls to test the currents, and by dropping his barrel off the Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton to test its shock absorbence. Soucek's custom-made barrel was 9 feet (2.7 m) long and 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter. [2]
Bobby Leach and his barrel after his trip over Niagara Falls, 1911. Bobby Leach's grave, Hillsborough Cemetery, Auckland, New Zealand. Bobby Leach (born Lancaster, England; 1858 – April 26, 1926) was the second person and first man to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, accomplishing the feat on July 25, 1911 — while Annie Taylor did it on October 24, 1901.
Bobby Leach and his barrel after his trip over Niagara Falls, (1911 photo) The first recorded publicity stunt using the Falls was the wreck of the schooner Michigan in 1827. Local hotel owners acquired a former Lake Erie freighter, loaded it with animals and effigies of people, towed it to a spot above the falls and let it plunge over the brink.
After calling the stunt a "cool commercial proposition", Stephens went over the Horseshoe Falls in an oak barrel, [3] using an anvil for ballast; this proved to be fatal. Stephens ignored warnings from his advisers, fellow Niagara daredevils Bobby Leach and William "Red" Hill Sr., who suggested he test the barrel before going over the Falls ...
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