3,580 Mile Swim

Paul Boyton (1848-1924), Lodge of Friendship 206, London, was a world-famous adventurer and swimmer.  He opened the world's first permanent amusement park in Chicago in 1894 and the following year established what would become the Coney Island amusement park.  As a stunt swimmer, he invented a rubberized floating "wet suit," using it to swim long distances. He first used it to cross the English Channel and in 1881 used it to swim the Missouri River from Cedar Creek, Montana to St. Louis, Missouri, a distance of 3,580 miles!