Paul Boyton (often misspelled Boynton; 29 June 1848 – 18 April 1924), known as the Fearless Frogman, was a showman and adventurer some credit as having spurred worldwide interest in water sports as a hobby, particularly open-water swimming.

Boyton is best known for his water stunts that captivated the world, including crossing the English Channel in a novel rubber suit that functioned similarly to a kayak.

[10] While in Atlantic City, Jersey, Boyton began toying with a rubber suit invented by Clark S. Merriman as a life-saving device for steamship passengers.

This first immersion suit, which would become Boyton's trademark, was essentially a pair of rubber pants and shirt cinched tight at the waist.

[citation needed] The suit had a rubber bag attached, which was intended to be used as storage for survival essentials such as food and water.

With the hope to improve this, Boyton wanted to paddle from 250 miles off the coast of New York onto the shore, but could not find a single ship's captain that would take him out.

[14] By the time he got to shore, Boyton had his vision seriously impaired by the salt water, and thanked the "great pilot above", before sending a telegram to the captain that dropped him off, and the New York Herald.

[15] Boyton's following shows in Queenstown Harbour and around Dublin were extremely popular, so much so that he was sent an invitation to meet Queen Victoria and Princess Beatrice on a yacht near the Isle of Wight, which he accepted.

[18] During the Christmas of 1874, Boyton sent a message to The Times, where he used the recent sinking of the Cospatrick as an example of why Merriman's suit could save lives.

[26] Boyton entered the water at Cap Gris-Nez for his second attempt on 28 May at 03:00, accompanied by the Prince Ernest and captained by Edward Dane.

Boyton was sent telegrams by Queen Victoria, President Grant and Albert Edward (then Prince of Wales) congratulating him.

[30] Before leaving England, Boyton umpired a race from Putney to Hammersmith down the Thames, where all the competitors were paddling in Merriman's suits.

[32] On 23 August, Boyton performed one final time in England with the suit at Folkestone Harbour, before leaving for Germany.

Boyton would tow a small boat behind him in which he carried his supplies and personal possessions, and sometimes invited newspaper reporters to accompany him.

[citation needed] On 25 August 1875, Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel without any artificial aid.

The details of the race are unclear, but the referee refused to declare a winner and later accused Webb of cheating by swimming to shore and running across the beach.

[35][43] Webb, backed up by Hartley defended himself, and it was later found out that the referee was Boyton's fiancée's dad, indicating that he was probably biased.

[citation needed] Boyton's rubber suit was featured by Jules Verne in Tribulations of a Chinaman in China as a life saver for the hero and his three companions.