CHARLES STEPHENS
1920
(Died)
Charles Stephens was a barber from Bristol, England, who started performing stunts to support his family, which included his wife Annie and their 11 children. He made a number of high dives and parachute jumps, earning him the nickname “The Demon Barber of Bristol.”
Chasing fame and fortune, Stephens dreamt of going over the Niagara Falls in a barrel and spent 11 years planning it.
On July 11, 1920, the 58-year-old Charles Stephens went over the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel made from Russian oak. He did not heed the warnings of Bobby Leach and William “Red” Hill, Sr., who advised that he test the barrel by sending it unoccupied over the falls. Stephens refused.
His use of an anvil strapped to his feet proved fatal. When the huge barrel hit the water at the base of the waterfall, the anvil broke through the bottom of the barrel and dragged Mr. Stephens under the falls to his death. His severed arm was the only body part recovered.
His arm is buried in an unmarked grave at Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Charles Stephens became famous for being the first daredevil to die attempting to go over the falls in a barrel.
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