Henry Taylor (17 March 1885 – 28 February 1951[1][2][3]) was an English competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in four Summer Olympics between 1906 and 1920.

His record of three gold medals at one Olympic Games – the most by any Briton – stood for 100 years until it was equaled by cyclist Chris Hoy in 2008.

After performing well in the heats of the 400 m freestyle, he finished second in the semi-final to Austrian Otto Scheff, who won the same event in the 1906 Intercalated Games.

[5] He was the first man to hold the world record for the 1500 metres freestyle, a feat that he completed on 25 July 1908 in a time of 22:48.4 in London.

A popular story tells that during the course of the battle, his ship, HMS St. Vincent, was sunk, and while the survivors waited for two hours to be rescued, Taylor swam around encouraging his crewmates.

He took part in the Morecambe Bay Race, winning eight times over a period of 20  years and at one point held the record.

[9] Taylor attempted to emulate Matthew Webb in swimming across the English Channel but failed due to bad weather.

[3] Taylor's last appearance in the Olympic Games was at Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920 when he again helped the 4×200 m freestyle relay team to a bronze medal.

[5] He suffered a setback when the public house, the Nudger, he owned in Dobcross was closed due to financial difficulties.

He died in obscurity aged 65 on 28 February 1951, at lodgings in Brierley Street, Chadderton, he was penniless and unmarried.