Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
C148179-1
Date(s)
- 1955-07 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
(1919-1980)
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Copy of customer print. Champion long distance swimmer Bert Thomas, extreme right, is pictured in July, 1955, with the official reception committee after swimming the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Mr. Thomas, a 275-lb. former logger and ex-Marine, was the first person to successfully swim the icy waters of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, a distance of 18.3 miles, on July 8th. It was his fifth try and took him 11 hours to complete. He would go on to further acclaim as the only man to swim from Seattle to Tacoma, a journey of 18.5 miles, in May, 1956. Mr. Thomas passed away at the age of 46 in June, 1972. Photograph ordered by Mrs. W.T. Will on March 25, 1966.
Thomas, Bert; Swimmers--Tacoma--1950-1960;