People named Florence Chadwick

Florence Susan (Chadwick) Desbrowe Annear of Geelong, Greater Geelong City County, VIC Australia was born in 1864 in Ararat, Ararat Rural City County to James Chadwick and Susan Hunt Chadwick. She had siblings Annie Maude (Chadwick) Stevenson, Ella May Chadwick, Edwin James Chadwick, and Margaret Elizabeth Chadwick. She married Harold Desbrowe Annear in 1891, and had children James Rokeby Desbrowe Annear and Hector Ascot Desbrowe-Annear. Florence Desbrowe Annear died at age 91 years old in 1955 in Geelong, Greater Geelong City County.

Florence M. Chadwick Florence May Chadwick Born November 9, 1918, San Diego, California Died March 15, 1995 (aged 76) San Diego, California Nationality American Known for long distance swimming Florence May Chadwick (November 9, 1918 – March 15, 1995) was an American swimmer known for long-distance open water swimming. She was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, setting a time record each time. She was also the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Bosporus (one way), and the Dardanelles (round trip). Biography She was born in San Diego on November 8, 1918. Her parents were Richard Chadwick, a police officer, and Mary Lacko, a homemaker who later operated a San Diego restaurant. Chadwick grew up in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego and graduated from Point Loma Junior-Senior High School in 1936. She attended San Diego State College and studied at several law schools and a business college. She was married and divorced twice, and had no children. Chadwick entered swimming competitions from a young age, scoring her first win the age of ten, but she realized she preferred ocean events rather than pool swims. At the age of 10 she became the youngest person to swim across the mouth of San Diego Bay. Starting at age eleven she competed in rough water swims, winning an annual 2.5-mile race in the ocean off La Jolla 10 times in 18 years. She swam in Southern California ocean races as an amateur for several decades, but had her heart set on swimming the English Channel. In 1950 she attempted to enter a 1950 Channel-swimming contest sponsored by the Daily Mail, but was refused for lack of a significant reputation. She determined to try at her own expense, failing in July after 14 hours in the water, but succeeding in August in her best-known contribution to swimming history. On August 8, 1950, at the age of 32, she crossed the English Channel from France to England in 13 hours and 23 minutes, breaking the then-current women's record held by American swimmer Gertrude Ederle. One year later, Chadwick crossed the English Channel again, from England to France this time, in 16 hours and 22 minutes, thus making her the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, and setting a record for the England-France journey. She ultimately swam the Channel four times. In 1952, Florence attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. After about 15 hours a thick fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she did not think she could make it. She swam for another hour before asking to be pulled out, unable to see the coastline due to the fog. As she sat in the boat, she found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from her destination. Two months later, she tried again. The same thick fog set in, but she succeeded in reaching Catalina. She said that she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam. She later swam the Catalina channel on two additional occasions. During the summer of 1953 she successfully swam the Channel again (setting a new women's record), as well as the Straits of Gibraltar (setting an all-time record of 5:06), the Bosporus, and the Dardanelles. In 1955 she swam the Channel again, breaking her own record time. In August 1957 she swam the Bristol Channel from Weston-super-Mare to Penarth Head, 11 miles in a record-breaking 6 hours 7 mins. Not all of her long-distance swim attempts were successful. In 1954, she tried to become the first person to swim across Lake Ontario, but gave up after becoming ill a few hours into her swim. Other unsuccessful attempts included the Strait of Juan de Fuca and two tries at the Irish Sea (her last major swim attempt in 1960). She gave product endorsements and served for many years as the spokesperson for Catalina Swimwear. She taught swimming at a number of venues and worked with Esther Williams to design movie swimming sequences. She also worked as a credit counselor and as a stockbroker. She died of leukemia in San Diego in 1995; her ashes were scattered into the ocean off Point Loma. Recognition In December 1951, Chadwick appeared as herself in Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town musical series on CBS television. The program highlighted Chadwick's hometown of San Diego. On October 30, 1955, she appeared as a guest on "What's My Line?". In 1962, Chadwick was inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into its Breitbard Hall of Fame. In 1970 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Florence O Chadwick was born on August 10, 1899, and died at age 91 years old on June 1, 1991. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Florence O Chadwick.

Florence L Chadwick of El Cajon, San Diego County, CA was born on December 10, 1910, and died at age 93 years old on January 7, 2004.

Florence Chadwick of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California was born on December 20, 1879, and died at age 88 years old in July 1968.

Florence Chadwick of Placerville, El Dorado County, California was born on August 5, 1891, and died at age 88 years old in July 1980.

Florence Chadwick of Denver, Denver County, Colorado was born on January 17, 1898, and died at age 74 years old in March 1972.

Florence Chadwick was born on January 10, 1885, and died at age 105 years old in October 1990. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Florence Chadwick.

Florence E Chadwick of Broken Arrow, Tulsa County, OK was born on August 31, 1875, and died at age 94 years old on August 15, 1970.

Florence Chadwick of Shreveport, Caddo County, Louisiana was born on March 24, 1905, and died at age 81 years old in September 1986.

Florence Chadwick of Lockport, Will County, Illinois was born on May 24, 1895, and died at age 85 years old in October 1980.

Florence H Chadwick of Franklin, Oakland County, MI was born on May 3, 1911, and died at age 91 years old on November 19, 2002.

Florence F Chadwick of Ellijay, Gilmer County, GA was born on August 31, 1897, and died at age 96 years old on March 14, 1994.

Florence Chadwick of Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina was born on May 29, 1921, and died at age 63 years old in January 1985.

Florence M Chadwick of Plymouth, Luzerne County, PA was born on December 24, 1912, and died at age 91 years old on August 29, 2004.

Florence Chadwick of Langhorne, Bucks County, PA was born on May 16, 1889, and died at age 80 years old in October 1969.

Florence Chadwick of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA was born on June 21, 1901, and died at age 70 years old in May 1972.

Florence S Chadwick of Amity, Washington County, PA was born on May 6, 1906, and died at age 92 years old on October 26, 1998.

Florence Chadwick was born on November 28, 1902, and died at age 75 years old in October 1978. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Florence Chadwick.

Florence Chadwick of Maple Shade, Burlington County, NJ was born on May 19, 1908, and died at age 78 years old in March 1987.

Florence W Chadwick of Ithaca, Tompkins County, NY was born on January 12, 1908, and died at age 85 years old in July 1993.

Florence Chadwick was born on July 11, 1927, and died at age 55 years old in May 1983. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Florence Chadwick.

Florence Chadwick was born on June 13, 1924, and died at age 58 years old in February 1983. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Florence Chadwick.

Florence Chadwick of Groveton, Coos County, NH was born on August 8, 1926, and died at age 53 years old in March 1980.