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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | William Henry | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1859-06-28)28 June 1859 St Pancras, London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 March 1928(1928-03-20) (aged 68) St Pancras, London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, water polo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | London Leander SC | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William Henry (28 June 1859 – 20 March 1928), born Joseph Nawrocki, was an English competitive swimmer and lifesaver who represented Great Britain in international competition.
Biography
He was of Polish ancestry, and changed his original Polish surname Nawrocki to the English "Henry". He was a co-founder of the Royal Life Saving Society. As a swimmer he won a number of national and European championships. In 1906, at 46, he became the oldest ever Olympic medal winner in swimming as a member of the British men's 4×250-metre relay team which won the bronze medal. He won a gold medal in the 1900 Summer Olympics for Water Polo.
Henry is an International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee. He was the swimming instructor for the British royal family, using the swimming pool at the Bath Club, Dover Street. He helped to formalise the rules of water polo. With Archibald Sinclair (1866–1922), he wrote a book on swimming for the Badminton Library.
Death
He died in the St Pancras district of London, aged 68. He was buried with his wife Elizabeth at Highgate Cemetery, with a memorial above the grave paid for by members and friends of the Royal Life Saving Society.
See also
- Great Britain men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of Olympic medalists in water polo (men)
- List of Olympic champions in men's water polo
- List of men's Olympic water polo tournament goalkeepers
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
References
- ^ "Our founder, William Henry". Commonwealth Drowning Prevention. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- "William Henry". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- Henry, William (2013). Water Polo: A Brief History, Rules of the Game and Instructions on How to Play. Read Books Ltd. ISBN 9781446548608.
- Sinclair, Archibald; Henry, William (1916). Swimming. The Badminton library of sports and pastimes. London: Longmans, Green & Co; 1st edition 1893; 4th edition 1903
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - Watkins, M. G. (5 August 1893). "Review of Swimming by A. Sinclair and W. Henry". The Academy. 44 (1109): 105–106.
- England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: William Henry; Jan-Feb-Mar quarter 1928; Age: 67; District: Pancras; Volume: 1b; Page: 79.
External links
- William Henry at the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- William Henry at Olympics.com
- William Henry at Team GB
- William Henry at Olympedia
| Great Britain men's water polo squad – 1900 Summer Olympics – Gold medal (1st title) | ||
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- 1859 births
- 1928 deaths
- Burials at Highgate Cemetery
- People from St Pancras, London
- Swimmers from the London Borough of Camden
- English male freestyle swimmers
- British male freestyle swimmers
- British male long-distance swimmers
- Olympic swimmers for Great Britain
- Water polo goalkeepers
- British male water polo players
- Olympic water polo players for Great Britain
- Swimmers at the 1900 Summer Olympics
- Swimmers at the 1906 Intercalated Games
- Water polo players at the 1900 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games
- Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
- English people of Polish descent
- British male backstroke swimmers
- English male backstroke swimmers
- English male water polo players
- British swimming Olympic medallist stubs
- British water polo biography stubs