Ned Hanlan

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Edward "Ned" Hanlan (12 July 1855 – 4 January 1908) was a professional rower, hotelier, and alderman from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Hanlan's father was a hotelkeeper on the Toronto Islands, and young Hanlan used to row several kilometers across the harbour to go to and from school every day. By the time Hanlan was a teenager, he was competing in rowing events, and he ultimately lost only six of his 300 races during his rowing career. He was the world champion for five consecutive years from 1880-1884 in the sport of single-scull rowing.

Weighing less than 155 pounds, Hanlan was called "the boy in blue". Actor Nicholas Cage portrayed Hanlan in the 1986 film The Boy in Blue.

Following his career as an athlete, Hanlan became a hotelier like his father, and eventually became involved in municipal politics as an alderman of Toronto. For some years he was coach to the crew of Columbia University, New York. [1]He died of pneumonia at age 52.

In 1980, a postage stamp was issued in his honour commemorating the centenary of his first world championship.[2] In addition, Hanlan's Point at the west end of the Toronto Islands is named after him as well as the Ned Hanlan Steamboat.

[edit] External links

• Hanlan's career on DVD Video
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Brief biography
• The Boy in Blue at the Internet Movie Database
• Ontario Plaques - Ned Hanlan 1855-1908
• Hanlan postage stamp