Stonewall Jackson (@1776Stonewall)

History Nugget - Benjamin Franklin, The Hall of Fame Swimmer?: Benjamin Franklin was known as what we call a “polymath” - a person with an encyclopedic knowledge of a wide variety of topics. He was an inventor, a scientist, a printer, a writer, and much, much more. . But a swimmer? It’s worth pointing out that in the 18th century the vast majority of colonists did not know how to swim at all. Swimming was not considered a necessary skill of the time. Though some rural folk, like George Washington, did grow up swimming in lakes and rivers - as Washington did in the Rappahannock. But Franklin was much more than just a recreational swimmer. He’s actually in the International Swimming Hall of Fame. So, how did this come to be? Franklin began swimming in the Schulkill River as a child and continued swimming till old age. His reputation as an "aquatic ace" was built on several notable feats and contributions: In 1726, while in England, a 19-year-old Franklin famously jumped off a ferry boat into the River Thames and swam 3.5 miles from Chelsea to Blackfriars. The story unfolded during a return trip from a curiosity shop called Don Saltero’s with a group of friends and gentlemen. After Franklin’s friend, John Wygate, spent the morning bragging about Franklin’s incredible swimming skills, the group eventually convinced him to give them a live demonstration. Franklin stripped down and leaped into the water, performing various “feats of activity” alongside the boat as it traveled back to London. As the cheering crowd looked on in amazement, Franklin performed all sorts of acrobatics and “water tricks”, such as swimming on his back while keeping his hands free and swimming with his wrists tied behind his back. He maintained his pace for the full 3.5 mile trip - a distance few could even imagine . . Franklin was a self taught swimmer. Like anything else in those days, he learned from reading books. His favorite was a French book called “The Art of Swimming”. Ever the inventor, at just 11 years old, he invented his first pair of swim fins - which were oval wooden palettes worn on the hands rather than the feet. He was a lifelong proponent of swimming for health and safety, even considering opening his own swimming school in London. He famously taught his grandson to swim when he was 77 years old.. In his amazing autobiography he wrote about his swimming prowess, and many of the water tricks he performed, such as Back-Swimming with Hands Full: He could swim on his back while holding items high above the water to keep them dry. In 1968, Benjamin Franklin was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.