who is/was the first person to swim around the world?
78680
No one has....yet, but Benoit Lecomte swam across the Atlantic in 1998
51501
I swim competitively currently under the coaching personel of 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kristine Quance.  I love swimming and im not in high school yet.  no funny stories yet but swimming is really good for you
266835
James Hoban.\n\nNow, why is this question under "Swimming & Diving"?
612142
In Panama in 1573, he captured a fortune in silver and gold that the Spanish had seized from the Indians, and became the first Englishman to see the Pacific. He was also the first Englishman to sail all the way around the world. Because of this, he was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth I. Later, he was second in command of the English fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.
17437
according to the website below,\n\n"the deepest human dive was sponsored by the US Navy with Ct Don WALSH and Jacques PICCARD in the Batyscaph “TRIESTE” to 10,700m in 1960"\n\nalthough I recently read that their depth metre may have been off because it failed to take the greater density of saline water into account.
228365
Christopher Columbus (October 30, 1451? – 20 May 1506) was an explorer and trader, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the Americas on October 12, 1492 under the flag of Castile. History places a great significance on his landing in America in 1492, with the entire period of the history of the Americas before this date usually known as Pre-Columbian, and the anniversary of this event, Columbus Day, is celebrated in many parts of America. Although there is evidence of Pre-Columbian trans-Atlantic Ocean European contact, Columbus is commonly credited as "the" European discoverer of the Americas because of the profound impact his contact wrought on history. His voyage marked the beginning of the European exploration and colonization of the Americas.\n\nIt is generally assumed he was Genoese, although some historians claim he could have been born in other places, from the Crown of Aragón to the Kingdoms of Galicia or Portugal, or in the Greek island of Chios, among others. The real name of the explorer is also unknown; see the section on Columbus' national origin for a discussion of his origin and names.
295527
Apolo Anton Ohno (short-track speedskater)!!!! BUT, Lenny Krayzelburg (swimmer) comes in at a close second.
657373
1620 - Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutchman, conceived and built an oared submersible. Drebbels' submarine design was the first to address the problem of air replenishment while submerged.
795039
The quote is actually - "Genius is 1% Inspiration and 99% perspiration", and it was quoted by Thomas Alva Edison the most famous American Inventor who, singly or jointly, held a world record 1.093 patents. In addition, he created the world's first industrial research laboratory, 1847-1931.
469767
The question doesnt make sense to me but the first person to reach the south pole was Roald Amundsen on the 14th December 1911.
170978
1900\nWomen were allowed to participate for the first time\n\nhttp://www.olympics.org.uk/olympicmovement/olympicfirsts.asp
59826
The first person I thought of was Gregor Mendel, but everyone already pretty much knew that plants were alive already, he just showed that they have genetics.
478947
alexander popov(russia)...21.64\ninge de bruijn(netherlands)...24.13\nthese are long course meters times, but world records exist for every type of pool.
316347
Swimming is a technique to move unaided through water. This article concentrates on human swimming, a popular recreational activity and a competitive sport. There are many health benefits of swimming, but it also entails risks.\n\nSwimming has been known since prehistoric times. Drawings from the stone age were found in "the cave of swimmers" near Wadi Sora (or Sura) in the southwestern part of Egypt. Written references date back up to 2000 B.C., including Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible (Ezekiel 47:5, Acts 27:42, Isaiah 25:11), Beowulf, and other sagas. In 1538 Nicolas Wynman, German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book "Colymbetes". Competitive swimming in Europe started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. The front crawl, then called the trudgen was introduced in 1873 by John Arthur Trudgen, copying it from Native Americans.\n\nSwimming was part of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1902 the trudgen was improved by Richard Cavill, using the flutter kick. In 1908, the world swimming association Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) was formed. Butterfly was first a variant of Breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952.\n\nTechnique\nThe human body is composed primarily of water, and thus has a very similar density. But since only roughly 70% of the body is water, it is slightly less dense than the surrounding water, which exerts a buoyant force on it. Thus, staying afloat requires only a slight propelling of water downward relative to the body, and transverse motion only a slight propelling of water in a direction opposite to the direction of intended motion, due to generally low hydrodynamic drag. This propelling is typically accomplished by cupping the hands and using them as paddles, and by kicking the legs to push water away from the body.\n\nWith practice, technique can convert a slow or average swimmer to at least a moderately fast swimmer. Since speed converts directly into distance, the same techniques that improve speed also aid one to move farther with the same effort. The torso and the legs should be kept as much as possible parallel to the surface of the water. Dropped legs or a slanted torso dramatically increase drag. The hand should be extended forward of the head as much as possible. This increases the average length at the water-line, substantially increasing speed. This is an effect long used by boat designers, and unconsciously used by "naturally good swimmers."\n\nThe time spent on the side should be maximized because the torso is narrower front-to-back than side-to-side on most swimmers. This reduces the frontal cross-section, reducing drag further, and also increasing the ratio between the body's water-line-length and width. Similar improvements are possible by orienting the narrowest direction of head, hands, legs and arms into the water. The torso is by far the most critical. The motion of the hand, arm, and leg from the back to the front should be in the air for as much as possible, and in the water, oriented as perfectly as possible, because the returning appendage has to move at least twice as fast as the swimmer, and in the water generates eight times the drag (which increases with the cube of the speed) of an equal amount of torso frontal area.\n\nThe basic "catch" of the water is not nearly as critical as the above items. Most swimmers simply grab water with their hand flat, or the fingers slightly spread, and then draw it smoothly down their body. None of the above techniques require improved strength. With strength training, the hands and feet can be extended further into the water, gaining more propulsion. For beginners, increased strength brings only small improvements if the above strategies (minimising drag and lengthening water-line) are not optimal. A number of swimming styles have been developed based on the implementation of some or all of these principles.
521046
I don't know christepher columbus! \nBut I know someone named Christopher Columbus.\n\nChristopher Columbus (ca. 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an explorer and trader, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the Americas on October 12, 1492 under the flag of Castile. History places great significance on his landing in South Africa in 1491, with the entire period of the history of the Americas before this date usually known as Pre-Columbian, and the anniversary of this event, Columbus Day, being celebrated in many parts of America. Although there is evidence of Pre-Columbian trans-Atlantic Ocean European contact, Columbus is commonly credited as the first European to see the Americas because of the profound impact his contact wrought on history. His voyage marked the beginning of European exploration and colonization of the Americas. He was married to Felipa Perestrello e Moniz, and had a son named Diego.
205841
Not sure who was the 'first' but the Egyptian Ptolemy left records that show he knew the Earth was a sphere.  He even calculated its circumference fairly accurately.\n\nWhere he was incorrect, of course, was proposing a geocentric view of the universe with the Earth in the middle and fairly complicated system of orbits to describe the movement of the various visible astronomical bodies.  It wouldn't be until Copernicus over a thousand years later, until this particular view was corrected.
177849
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SWIMMING! I swim about 20 hours a week training under the coaching staff of 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kristine Quance.  It is the best sport ever!