Whenever July 15th rolls around I think of Dr. William FitzGerald, also know as Nathan Boya, who went over the Canadian Horseshow Falls on that date in 1961 in a big rubber ball he called, a “Plunge O Sphere”. He became the seventh person to intentionally go over Niagara Falls in some type of device. He survived and was charged with failure to obtain:”a ceremonial permit from the Niagara Parks Commission, to perform an act which congregates or is likely to congregate persons contrary to the Niagara Parks Act”. He was fined $100.00.
Later he stated his reason for going over the falls was very personal and did not discuss the stunt any further. He now lives quietly with his wife in Thailand.
The first person to,”get the ball rolling” was Annie Taylor in 1901.
The last person to try and “conquer Niagara” was 39 year old Robert Overacker who on October 1, 1995 went over Niagara Falls intentionally on a jet-ski. He lost his life in the attempt.