Amelia Gade Corson
Encyclopedia
Amelia "Millie" Gade Corson (c. 1899 - ) was a Danish-born
American long-distance swimmer
who is best known as becoming the seventh person, third American and second woman to successfully swim across the English Channel. Earlier, Corson had completed the swim around Manhattan Island
, a distance of 42 miles, and had also completed the swim from Albany, New York
to New York City
, swimming the distance in a total of 5 days, 3 hours and 11.5 minutes. The straight-line distance between the two points is 143 miles, but Corson swam an extra 10 miles due to various detours.
, Denmark
c. 1899. Her father was a physician who was sure that his daughter would become a musician or prima donna, but she was uninteresed in piano and voice lessons. She started swimming at age six and rapidly became an expert swimmer and started a school of swimming instruction. Seeking greater opportunities, she came to the United States in 1919. She had much trouble getting established there. Trying to find a notable accomplishment to highlight her background, she asked a man standing on the Harlem River
how far she could swim along the shore and he replied that it was between 30 and 40 miles. Not realizing that Manhattan is an island, she made the 42 mile distance in a time of 16 hours.
Corson had been an instructor for three years at the YWCA
in Harlem
and then taught swimming to sailors on the USS Illinois
battalion armory of the New York Naval Militia
, located on the Hudson River
at the foot of 96th Street
. In preparation for the Channel swim, Corson implemented a plan for daily exercise that she had received from racewalking champion Louis Leibgold, the physical director of the Illinois. She never had a swimming instructor and her preparatory steps for the English Channel swim were based on the guidance of an expert in the Channel's tides and weather conditions.
Her next effort was the swim from Albany to New York City, a distance of 143 miles. She needed someone to shadow her in a rowboat while doing the swim, and received a volunteer in the person of Clemington Corson, assistant superintendent of the USS Illinois. She never left the water, but would stop at the nearest town along the shore and then set out again early the next morning. She swam 153 miles on the 143 mile straight-line route and covered the distance in a total of 5 days, 3 hours and 11.5 minutes, including 66 hours of swimming time. Becoming close from their relationship on the Albany-NYC trip she married Corson, and by 1926 she had two children, a two-year-old daughter and a son who was four years old. The children stayed with an aunt in Virginia
while Corson worked on her record swims.
Her first attempt to make the English Channel crossing came in 1923, when she had made the first 21 miles in 14.5 hours and had reached two miles from the coast of France, but was forced to concede failure after a tide carried her seven miles away from shore. In July 1922, she swam the 22 miles from Dover
to Ramsgate
in 6 hours and 20 minutes, with an hourly sugar cube providing her with the energy needed for the swim. Her time was only six minutes off the record set by Frank Perks.
Leibgold introduced Corson to L. Walter Lissberger, a local businessman with an interest in sports who financed the $3,000 in expenses she and her husband incurred in preparing for the Channel swim. Lissberger made a wager with Lloyd's of London
betting that she would succeed in crossing the Channel, and received a payout of $100,000 at odds of 20–1 when she completed her swim. She was one of three swimmers who were trying to make the swim across the Channel at the same time starting at 11:32 at night on August 28, 1926, leaving from Cape Gris Nez. The two men with her failed, Egypt
ian swimmer Ishak Helmy dropping out after three hours and an English swimmer failing one mile from Dover's Shakespeare Cliffs. In the wake of criticism that Gertrude Ederle
had benefited from swimming alongside a tugboat, Corson's motorboat and her husband's row boat remained 20 to 70 yards away at all times. By 5:00 AM, Corson appeared to be on a pace to break Ederle's record, but the ebb tide
, the wake of a Dutch steamship and changes in wind direction set her back. She said that when she was struggling she thought of her children and that "their two dear faces were always in front of me". Her husband, who had followed her in a rowboat, called her "the finest girl and the best swimmer in the world!" With her husband rowing nearby in a dory
and providing her with hot chocolate, sugar lumps and crackers, she was able to complete the swim, in a time of 15 hours and 29 minutes, one hour longer than the record set by Gertrude Ederle
three weeks earlier that summer.
Corson sailed to New York City
aboard the RMS Aquitania
, where she was reunited with her family and given an official welcome by the city's official greeter, who escorted her by car for a ticker-tape parade
up Broadway
to New York City Hall
where she was welcomed by Mayor Jimmy Walker
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
American long-distance swimmer
Long-distance swimming
The distances that distinguish long distance swimming from ordinary swimming are those distances that are longer than are typically swum in pool competitions. When a given swim calls more on endurance than outright speed, the more likely it is to be considered a long distance swim...
who is best known as becoming the seventh person, third American and second woman to successfully swim across the English Channel. Earlier, Corson had completed the swim around Manhattan Island
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, a distance of 42 miles, and had also completed the swim from Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, swimming the distance in a total of 5 days, 3 hours and 11.5 minutes. The straight-line distance between the two points is 143 miles, but Corson swam an extra 10 miles due to various detours.
Biography
Born in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
c. 1899. Her father was a physician who was sure that his daughter would become a musician or prima donna, but she was uninteresed in piano and voice lessons. She started swimming at age six and rapidly became an expert swimmer and started a school of swimming instruction. Seeking greater opportunities, she came to the United States in 1919. She had much trouble getting established there. Trying to find a notable accomplishment to highlight her background, she asked a man standing on the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
how far she could swim along the shore and he replied that it was between 30 and 40 miles. Not realizing that Manhattan is an island, she made the 42 mile distance in a time of 16 hours.
Corson had been an instructor for three years at the YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
and then taught swimming to sailors on the USS Illinois
USS Illinois (BB-7)
USS Illinois , the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 21st state, was a battleship, the lead ship of her class....
battalion armory of the New York Naval Militia
New York Naval Militia
The New York Naval Militia is the Naval Militia of New York State and is under the command of the Governor of New York.With the New York State Guard, as well as the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, it is under the control of the New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs and New...
, located on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
at the foot of 96th Street
96th Street (Manhattan)
96th Street is a major two-way street in East Harlem and the Upper West Side, which is a part of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from the East River at the FDR Drive to the Henry Hudson Parkway at the Hudson River...
. In preparation for the Channel swim, Corson implemented a plan for daily exercise that she had received from racewalking champion Louis Leibgold, the physical director of the Illinois. She never had a swimming instructor and her preparatory steps for the English Channel swim were based on the guidance of an expert in the Channel's tides and weather conditions.
Her next effort was the swim from Albany to New York City, a distance of 143 miles. She needed someone to shadow her in a rowboat while doing the swim, and received a volunteer in the person of Clemington Corson, assistant superintendent of the USS Illinois. She never left the water, but would stop at the nearest town along the shore and then set out again early the next morning. She swam 153 miles on the 143 mile straight-line route and covered the distance in a total of 5 days, 3 hours and 11.5 minutes, including 66 hours of swimming time. Becoming close from their relationship on the Albany-NYC trip she married Corson, and by 1926 she had two children, a two-year-old daughter and a son who was four years old. The children stayed with an aunt in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
while Corson worked on her record swims.
Her first attempt to make the English Channel crossing came in 1923, when she had made the first 21 miles in 14.5 hours and had reached two miles from the coast of France, but was forced to concede failure after a tide carried her seven miles away from shore. In July 1922, she swam the 22 miles from Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
to Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
in 6 hours and 20 minutes, with an hourly sugar cube providing her with the energy needed for the swim. Her time was only six minutes off the record set by Frank Perks.
Leibgold introduced Corson to L. Walter Lissberger, a local businessman with an interest in sports who financed the $3,000 in expenses she and her husband incurred in preparing for the Channel swim. Lissberger made a wager with Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
betting that she would succeed in crossing the Channel, and received a payout of $100,000 at odds of 20–1 when she completed her swim. She was one of three swimmers who were trying to make the swim across the Channel at the same time starting at 11:32 at night on August 28, 1926, leaving from Cape Gris Nez. The two men with her failed, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian swimmer Ishak Helmy dropping out after three hours and an English swimmer failing one mile from Dover's Shakespeare Cliffs. In the wake of criticism that Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...
had benefited from swimming alongside a tugboat, Corson's motorboat and her husband's row boat remained 20 to 70 yards away at all times. By 5:00 AM, Corson appeared to be on a pace to break Ederle's record, but the ebb tide
Ebb Tide
"Ebb Tide" is a popular song, written in 1953 by the lyricist Carl Sigman and composer Robert Maxwell.-Recordings:* The best-known versions are by Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra , Vic Damone , Roy Hamilton , Frank Sinatra , The Platters , Lenny Welch and the Righteous Brothers...
, the wake of a Dutch steamship and changes in wind direction set her back. She said that when she was struggling she thought of her children and that "their two dear faces were always in front of me". Her husband, who had followed her in a rowboat, called her "the finest girl and the best swimmer in the world!" With her husband rowing nearby in a dory
Dory
The dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is a lightweight and versatile boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. They are easy to build because of their simple lines. For centuries, dories have been used as traditional fishing boats, both in coastal waters and in the...
and providing her with hot chocolate, sugar lumps and crackers, she was able to complete the swim, in a time of 15 hours and 29 minutes, one hour longer than the record set by Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...
three weeks earlier that summer.
Corson sailed to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
aboard the RMS Aquitania
RMS Aquitania
RMS Aquitania was a Cunard Line ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage to New York on 30 May 1914...
, where she was reunited with her family and given an official welcome by the city's official greeter, who escorted her by car for a ticker-tape parade
Ticker-tape parade
A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in a built-up urban setting, allowing large amounts of shredded paper to be thrown from nearby office buildings onto the parade route, creating a celebratory effect by the snowstorm-like flurry...
up Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
to New York City Hall
New York City Hall
New York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...
where she was welcomed by Mayor Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
.