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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Henry | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 June 1859 St Pancras, London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 March 1928 (aged 68) St Pancras, London, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, water polo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | London Leander SC | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William Henry (28 June 1859 – 20 March 1928), born Joseph Nawrocki, was an English competitive swimmer and lifesaver who represented Great Britain in international competition.[1][2]
He was of Polish ancestry, and changed his original Polish surname Nawrocki to the English "Henry". He was a co-founder of the Royal Life Saving Society. As a swimmer he won a number of national and European championships. In 1906, at 46, he became the oldest ever Olympic medal winner in swimming as a member of the British men's 4×250-metre relay team which won the bronze medal. He won a gold medal in the 1900 Summer Olympics for Water Polo.[1]
Henry is an International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee. He was the swimming instructor for the British Royal Family, using the swimming pool at the Bath Club, Dover Street.[1] He helped to formalise the rules of water polo.[3] With Archibald Sinclair (1866–1922), he wrote a book on swimming for the Badminton Library.[4][5]
He died in the St Pancras district of London, aged 68.[6] He was buried with his wife Elizabeth at Highgate Cemetery, with a memorial above the grave paid for by members and friends of the Royal Life Saving Society.
