Daredevil Timeline

Annie Taylor - October 24, 1901 (Survived)

ACTUAL BARREL ON DISPLAY AT DAREDEVIL GALLERY!

Bobby Leach - July 25, 1911 (Survived)

Bobby Leach, an Englishman, successfully made the trip over the Falls in an all-steel barrel on July 25, 1911. He then spent six months in the hospital recuperating from his injuries.

Charles Stephens - July 11, 1920 (Died)

Charles Stephens attempted the plunge in a heavy oak barrel which failed to contain him once he plummeted over the Falls.

Jean Lussier - July 4, 1928 (Survived)

A six foot rubber ball made of 32 inner tubes and a double wall steel frame carried Lussier over the Falls, and allowed him to emerge completely unharmed from the plunge.

George Stathakis - July 4, 1930 (Died)

George Stathakis survived the trip over the Falls in a 2000 pound contraption of wood and steel, only to perish after becoming trapped behind the curtain of water for 22 hours. There was only 3 hours oxygen supply in the barrel.

Red Hill, Jr. - August 5, 1951 (Died)

Red Hill Jr.'s flimsy contraption of 13 inner tubes held together with fish net and canvas straps began to disintegrate even before he reached the brink. What was left by the time the contraption hit the bottom was not enough to shield Hill from the ravaging effects of the Falls.

Nathan T. Boya - July 15, 1961 (Survived)

Nathan T. Boya copied Lussier's"Rubber Ball" and successful journeyed over the Falls in it.

Karl Soucek - July 3, 1984 (Survived)

ACTUAL BARREL ON DISPLAY AT DAREDEVIL GALLERY! Soucek was the first Canadian to go over the Horseshoe Falls. The plunge took 3.2 seconds in his bright red barrel, but he was trapped for 45 minutes in the dangerous waters below the Falls, before being rescued by Niagara Parks Police.

Steven Trotter - August 18, 1985 (Survived)

22 year old Trotter became the youngest man to survive the plunge in his home made rubber barrel. When asked to describe the plunge he commented, “It was like dropping in an elevator except without a cable.”

David Munday - October 5, 1985 (Survived)

Munday attempted to plunge over he Falls in a 394 steel barrel . The barrel became stuck on the brink of the Falls He was fished out of the swirling waters by Niagara Parks Police who fined him $4000 for attempting to perform a stunt without approval.

Peter Deberhardi/Jeffrey Petkovich - September 27, 1989 (Survived)

These two daredevils went over the Falls head to head in the same barrel, but were fined $500 for performing a stunt in the Niagara Parks without permission.

Jessie W. Sharp - June 5, 1990 (Died)

This daredevil attempted to ride over the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in a 12 foot 8 in long, 36 lb. polyethylene kayak. He refused to wear a helmet so that he remained recognizable to the people filming him. His body was never recovered.

David Munday - September 26, 1993 (Second Trip - Survived)

ACTUAL BARREL ON DISPLAY AT DAREDEVIL GALLERY!

Steven Trotter/Lori Martin - June 18, 1995 (Survived)

These two friends went over the Falls in a 12 foot barrel, weighing about 900 pounds and made from two pieces of hot water heater tanks welded together and coated with Kevlar. The barrel became lodged in a rock crevice before it went over the falls and the pair had to be rescued. Both were fined for stunting.

Robert Overacker - October 1, 1995 (Died)

This daredevil attempted going over the Falls on a single jet ski. At the brink he attempted to discharge a rocket-propelled parachute on his back, but it failed to open, and he perished in the thundering waters.