Eva Morrison

Eva Belle Morrison Abdou (March 8, 1911 – March 17, 1985) was a Boston hospital librarian, and a long-distance swimmer who made three attempts to cross the English Channel, but never suceeded.[1][2][3] She was the first female from New England to attempt to swim the English Channel, making three attempts in 1926, 1935, and 1937. She was on the Board of Governors of The International Professional Swimmers' Association.[4]

Eva Belle Morrison Abdou
Born
Eva Belle Morrison

(1911-03-08)March 8, 1911
Pictou, Nova Scotia
DiedMarch 17, 1985(1985-03-17) (aged 74)
Brockton, Massachusetts
Morrison in 1935

Biography

She was born on March 8, 1911, in Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada, one of six children, having three brothers and two sisters.[5][6][7]

Eva completed her first 5-mile swim in 1918.[8] In 1926 she lost the Boston Light swim after swimming for over 7 hours in frigid water. She was the last competitor to drop out of the race.[9]

She was married to Peter J. Abdou.[5] She was credited with saving scores of people off the Scituate Coast, near Boston, Massachusetts, when she lived there in a home on the Beach.[10]

She first attempted to swim the English Channel unsuccessfully in 1926.[11] She made another attempt on August 23, 1935. In one of the worst storms of the season, with the French Coast in sight, due to rough seas, she gave up after swimming 16 hours.[5] [2][3]

Eva swam from Charleston to Boston, Light many times and swam from Charleston to the Pemberton Shoreline in 1933.[5]

She won the 1935 Dover Trophy with a time of 15 hours and 55 minutes for the 18-mile swim from Folkestone to Margate.[8] On 9 October 1941 she was in a car accident in Wiscasset, Maine that killed Michael Tonely, her swimming coach and trainer. Mr. Tonely is the gentleman sitting in the middle of the boat of the accompanying Library of Congress photograph.[1]

She died on March 17, 1985, after a long illness, in Brockton, Massachusetts at Cardinal Cushing Hospital, and was survived by her husband Peter. She was a devotee of skating, horseback riding, and golfing, and was a talented violinist. She was buried in Mount Benedict Cemetery in Roxbury, Massachusetts.[5][12]

References
  1. "Swimmer In Auto Crash. Eva Morrison of Boston Thrice Tried English Channel Crossing". The New York Times. October 11, 1941. Retrieved 2010-12-18. Miss Eva Morrison, 35, of Boston, who thrice attempted to swim the English Channel, was in critical condition at a hospital today ...
  2. "Eva Morrison Awaits Word to Start Swim". Associated Press in The New York Times. August 7, 1935. Retrieved 2010-12-18. Eva Morrisan, 25-year-old Boston hospital librarian, awaited only the word of the weatherman today before plunging into the choppy ...
  3. "American Girl Fails To Swim The Channel. Eva Morrison Gives Up Attempt Only at Insistence of Others When 4 Miles From Goal". Associated Press in The New York Times. August 25, 1935. Retrieved 2010-12-18. High wind, rain and a rough sea forced Eva Morrison, 25-year-old Boston hospital librarian, to give up an attempt today to swim the English Channel when she was within four miles of her goal, Cape Gris Nez, France.
  4. "Swimmers Organize". 21 September 1927. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 2009-12-03. The Board of Governors of the organization consists of Edward Kenting and William Erickson of New York; Byron Summers, San Francisco; Lottie Schoemmell, Lake George: Eva Morrison ...
  5. "Distance Swimmer Eva Abdou, 72; Save Many off of Scituate Beaches", Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, pg. 27, 18 March 1985
  6. 1911 Pictou Town, Nova Scotia, Canada census
  7. "Starts Long Swim", The Halifax Herald, August 23, 1935, Page 1
  8. "Eva Morrison". International Swimming Hall of Fame. 1973. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  9. "Race History". Boston Light Swim.
  10. "Eva Abdou, Obituaries", Vidette Messenger of Porter County", Valparaiso, Indiana, pg. 2, 18 March 1985
  11. "Swimming". 21 September 1927. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  12. "Distance Swimmer Eva Abdou, 72. Saved Many Off Scituate Beaches". The Boston Globe. March 18, 1985. Retrieved 2010-12-18. On Aug. 23, 1935, in one of the worst storms of the season, Mrs. [Peter J. Abdou] tried to make the swim from England to France. A man accompanying her gave up after only four miles. After 16 hours, with the French coast in sight, Mrs. Abdou was forced to abandon the swim because of the rough seas.
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