Wilbert E. Longfellow

Wilbert E. Longfellow[lower-alpha 1] (May 7, 1881 – March 18, 1947) was an American water safety instructor. Credited with halving the drowning rate in the United States, his mission was "the water-proofing of America."[1]

Wilbert E. Longfellow
Longfellow as Field Director of the Red Cross Lifesaving Corps
Born
Wilbert E. Longfellow

(1881-05-07)May 7, 1881
Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, U.S.
DiedMarch 18, 1947(1947-03-18) (aged 65)[1]
Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, U.S.

Beginning around 1900, Longfellow worked his entire adult life promoting swimming education and water safety.[5]

Background

Working in his first job as a newspaper reporter in Providence, Rhode Island, Longfellow wrote many stories on local drownings.[6] In his spare time, he began a one-man crusade to educate people on water safety with the U.S. Volunteer Life Saving Corps. This work led the US VLSC to appoint Longfellow as the organization's state superintendent in 1905 and bestow upon him the title of Commodore. In 1910, he became the organization's Commodore-in-Chief.[1]

Longfellow lobbied the Rhode Island General Assembly to fund life saving equipment for Rhode Island beaches and for more swimming education.[7] His success led him in 1914 to work with the American Red Cross.[6] Upon his recommendation, the Red Cross took up water safety as one of its missions. In 1914, the organization hired Longfellow to organize the Volunteer Life Saving Corps.[1] In 1917, Longfellow and the Red Cross began teaching swimming skills to U.S. soldiers and sailors preparing to fight in World War I.[1]

With the Volunteer Life Saving Corps, Longfellow recruited and trained volunteers to perform rescues and teach water safety. His mission was to "Waterproof America", and his slogan became "Everyone a swimmer, every swimmer a Lifesaver". This later became the motto of early Red Cross swimming safety programs.[8]

Longfellow worked for the Red Cross from 1914 to 1947, retiring shortly before his death. He is credited with halving the drowning rate in the United States, from 10.4 per 100,000 to 5.2.[1]

Awards and honors

Notes
  1. His middle name is variously given as Edmond and Edmund.[2][3][4]

References
  1. "Wilbert E. Longfellow:Water Safety Crusader". American Red Cross. Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2007.
  2. Longfellow, Wilbert Edmond (May 1938). "Dramatizing the Camp Water Program". The Camping Magazine. p. 17.
  3. Longfellow, Wilbert Edmund (December 1937). "Following-Up the Camp Swimming Program at Home". The Camping Magazine. p. 17.
  4. Longfellow, Wilbert Edmund (September 1928). "Everyone Should Know About Preventing Suffocation". American Physical Education Review. 33 (7): 468–473. doi:10.1080/23267224.1928.10652027.
  5. John F. Eyring (August 3, 2010). "Tragedy points up need for water safety". Baltimore Sun.
  6. "Water Safety Taught by This Man in 1900s". August 18, 2018.
  7. "Commodore Wilbert E. Longfellow". International Swimming Hall of Fame.
  8. "About Us". Town of Ocean City, Maryland.
  9. "Silver Buffalo Award Winners 1929–1926". Boy Scouts of America. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011.

Further reading
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