first american woman to swim the english channel
Gertrude Ederle Gertrude Caroline Ederle (October 23, 1905 â€“ November 30, 2003) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in five events. On 6 August 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Among other nicknames, the press sometimes called her "Queen of the Waves."[1]