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Great statesmen swimming across famous rivers
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yan. View Drop Down
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Posts: 352 		  Quote yan. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Great statesmen swimming across famous rivers
    Posted: 29-Jul-2005 at 12:49

I know of Mao Zedong and Klaus Toepfer.

Any others? Barbarossa doesn't qualify, since his bath in the Saleph river wasn't planned as PR.
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Posts: 2888 		  Quote Emperor Barbarossa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29-Jul-2005 at 12:52
Darnit, i was going to mention him .

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Posts: 7035 		  Quote gcle2003 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29-Jul-2005 at 13:47

And while King Canute got as far as the Itchen he got in a huff when the water wouldn't go away when he told it to.

And then of course there's the old story of Helmut Schmidt out in a boat with some aides when they lose an oar. Buoyed by the faith of his followers, Schmidt steps out, walks across the water, and gets the oar back.

Next day's Munich papers all had the headline "Helmut Schmidt Cannot Swim".



Edited by gcle2003
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yan. View Drop Down
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Posts: 352 		  Quote yan. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05-Aug-2005 at 14:30
I recently saw a picture of Mussolini as a swimmer. The caption didn't mention where it was shot, though.
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Posts: 5711 		  Quote Constantine XI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05-Aug-2005 at 14:47
Alexander at Granicus perhaps, though that was charging across on horseback.
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Posts: 188 		  Quote Idanthyrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05-Aug-2005 at 14:48

King Frederick I Barbarosa drowned while crossing the Saleph River by virtue of his heavy armor at the end of the 3rd Crusade

Edit: whoops, doesn't qualify eh? I need to read the whole post before I open my mouth

In that case Eisenhower taking a ceremonial piss before crossing the Rhine. 



Edited by Idanthyrus
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Constantine XI View Drop Down
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Posts: 5711 		  Quote Constantine XI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05-Aug-2005 at 14:51
Oh and how could I forget about Horatius defending the crossing of the Tiber.
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Posts: 2077 		  Quote morticia Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Aug-2005 at 13:38
George Washington (the first President of the United States) crossing the frozen Delaware River is perhaps the most recognizable symbol of the American Revolution.

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  Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Aug-2005 at 14:58
Caesar at the Rubicon?
Or did he cross that river by boat?
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Posts: 2077 		  Quote morticia Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Aug-2005 at 15:38
Yes, Mixcoatl.. I believe Caesar crossed that river by boat...as did Washington. I misunderstood the theme here...they asked for swimmers...well, I'm sure that Washington did not swim the frozen Delaware...in fact, he probably wasn't even a member of the "Polar Bear's Club"!!! My apologies to all for the misunderstanding.

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Posts: 952 		  Quote Paul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Aug-2005 at 16:12

Vespasion commanded a legion during the Claudian invasion of Britain. At the Battle of Medway, some of the legions crossed the river by swimming so maybe his was one of them.

Many labour politicians went swimming in the Thames when their rowing boat sank, including James Callahan and most of the former cabinet.

P.S. Does Moses and the Red Sea count?



Edited by Paul
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Georeincarnate Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23-Aug-2005 at 23:33
I'm reading a biography of Gaius Julius Caeser by a guy named Christian Meier.  He says that Caeser rode and swam regularly as a child.  It wasn't a famous river, but at some point in his life Caeser had to successfully swim through a strong current which would have pulled a novice swimmer away.
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yan. View Drop Down
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Posts: 352 		  Quote yan. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24-Aug-2005 at 14:16
I swam across the Havel river when I was 10 years old. But I'm not famous yet.
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yan. View Drop Down
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Posts: 352 		  Quote yan. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-Dec-2005 at 14:12

Has nothing to do with any river, but can you figure out who is on this photo (esp. interested in the half-submerged guy)?

http://www.museenkoeln.de/bild-der-woche/_img/hi/2000_06.jpg
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Posts: 2537 		  Quote Mosquito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21-Dec-2005 at 14:28

marshal prince Josef Poniatowski during the battle of Leipzig died when swimming cross Elster river, shot by "friendly" French fire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Antoni_Poniatowski
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Posts: 5697 		  Quote Omar al Hashim Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05-Jan-2006 at 20:28
Jalaluddin dived off a cliff into the Indus to escape capture after his army had just been defeated by the Mongols. Gengis Khan was so impressed he ordered his archers not to fire.
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Posts: 2630 		  Quote flyingzone Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05-Jan-2006 at 20:32
Deng Xiaoping too. Seems to be a tradition for Chinese leaders.
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