Taylor, Henry

Henry Taylor, (born March 17, 1885, Oldham, Lancashire, England—died February 28, 1951), British swimmer who won five Olympic medals and was the first man to hold world records in the 400-metre, 880-yard, and 1,500-metre freestyle events.

Taylor competed at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, where he captured a gold medal in the 1-mile (1,609-metre) freestyle, a silver in the 400-metre freestyle, and a bronze in the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay. At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, Taylor won gold medals in each event he entered—the 1,500-metre and 400-metre freestyle and the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay. At both the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm and the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, Taylor was a member of the bronze medal-winning 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay team—an event in which Great Britain did not win a medal again until 1976.

In addition to swimming at the 1920 Olympics, Taylor (then age 35) played water polo for the 1920 British team. Between 1906 and 1920, Taylor won 15 Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) titles in England. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1969, the year of the centenary of the ASA.