Nathan Boya
| Cameron | |
|---|---|
| Died |
1960 school |
| Nationality | United States |
Nathan Boya (real name William Fitzgerald) was the first African American to go over Niagara Falls. Very little is known about Fitzgerald. He claimed to be self-employed, but others have claimed he worked for IBM. On July 15, 1961, Fitzgerald went over the Horseshoe Falls in a rubber ball he designed called the "Plunge-O-Sphere". Performing stunts on the Falls could only be performed with permission, following the death of William Hill, Jr in 1951. Fitzgerald did not obtain a permit to do his stunt and was arrested and fined after completing it.[1] After this, Fitzgerald did not make public appearances until 1985, when he attended Karel Soucek's funeral and in 1988 protesting discriminatory actions against a scientist he called "Dr. X".[2]
Interviewed in 2012 for a National Geographic television special about Niagara daredevils, Fitzgerald revealed his reason for his stunt, after decades of silence: He had broken off his engagement, to a woman that he felt he had wronged, and he performed the dangerous stunt as a form of penance. Niagara had been their planned honeymoon destination.
See also
- List of objects that have gone over Niagara Falls
- Jean Lussier, the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a rubber ball.
References
- ↑ "Daredevils of Niagara Falls". Retrieved 2013-04-13.
- ↑ "Daredevils of Niagara Falls". Retrieved 2013-04-13.