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Annie Edson Taylor (October 24, 1838 – April 29, 1921) was an American schoolteacher who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

Her motives were financial but she never made much money from her adventure. She died penniless and her funeral was paid for by public donations.

Annie was born on October 24, 1838, in Auburn, New York. She was one of eight children born to Merrick Edson (1804–1850) and Lucretia Waring; her father owned a flour mill and died when she was 12 years old, leaving enough money to provide a comfortable living for the family. Since there were no dance schools in Bay City at that time, Taylor opened her own.

By 1900, Taylor had fallen upon hard times, having been burned out of her home and having lost money invested with a clergyman. Having always associated with "the best class of people, the cultured and the refined," Taylor believed that she needed money to hold her place in the world. Hoping to secure her later years financially, she decided she would be the first person to ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Taylor used a custom-made barrel for her trip, constructed of oak and iron and padded with a mattress. Two days before Taylor's own attempt, a domestic cat was sent over the Horseshoe Falls in her barrel to test its strength to see if the barrel would break or not. Contrary to rumors at the time, the cat survived the plunge and seventeen minutes later, after she was found with a bleeding head, posed with Taylor in photographs. On October 24, 1901, her 63rd birthday, the barrel was put over the side of a rowboat, and Taylor climbed in, along with her lucky heart-shaped pillow. The hole used for this was plugged with a cork, and Taylor was set adrift near the American shore, south of Goat Island. The river currents carried the barrel over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, which has since been the site for all successful daredevil stunting at Niagara Falls. Taylor was helped out of the barrel by Carlisle Graham, her friend and the first man to run the rapids on a raft.

Taylor entered the Niagara County Infirmary in Lockport, New York on February 23, 1921, claiming her age to be 57. She died on April 29, 1921, aged 82 and was interred next to her friend and fellow daredevil Carlisle Graham, in the "Stunter's Rest" section of Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York.

Annie Taylor's character appears in the IMAX film Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic. It was premiered by Transport Group in New York City on October 18, 2011, and starred Mary Testa as Taylor. In TV Murdoch Mysteries 7-1 "Murdoch Ahoy", Annie (Jillian Cook) is in Toronto for a speech, at the police station accusing her manager (Joel Rinzler) of stealing her barrel. Her story also appears in "Niagara Falls Daredevil, Accidental Nuclear Bomb, Railroad Heroine", an episode of Mysteries at the Museum. Lindsey Lauren Visser wrote "Annie Edson Taylor's Barrel v. Niagara Falls" for The Buffalo History Museum Podcast. Wisconsin-based Americana singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp tells Annie Edson Taylor’s story in the song “Queen of the Mist” on his 2023 album, Siren Songs, which was recorded at Johnny Cash’s cabin. Author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg published Queen of the Falls about Taylor's life, centered on her descent over the falls.

Annie Edson Taylor images from the Niagara Falls, Ontario Public Library "Annie Edson Taylor Bio from Oakwood Cemetery website" "Not the usual carnival show-off": Annie Edson Taylor at Niagara Falls – ABC Radio National program describing the background and circumstances of Taylor's stunt broadcast September 2011

Quick Facts

• Annie Edson Taylor images from the Niagara Falls, Ontario Public Library
• Wisconsin-based Americana singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp tells Annie Edson Taylor’s story in the song “Queen of the Mist” on his 2023 album, Siren Songs, which was recorded at Johnny Cash’s cabin.
• "Not the usual carnival show-off": Annie Edson Taylor at Niagara Falls – ABC Radio National program describing the background and circumstances of Taylor's stunt broadcast September 2011
• Lindsey Lauren Visser wrote "Annie Edson Taylor's Barrel v.
• "Annie Edson Taylor Bio from Oakwood Cemetery website"

Source material: Wikipedia - "Annie Edson Taylor". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.