George Gordon, Lord Byron, swims across the Hellespont, a tumultuous strait in Turkey now called the Dardanelles. Legendary Greek hero Leander supposedly swam the same four-mile stretch. Byron's visits to Greece later made him a passionate supporter of Greek independence from Turkey.

Who died swimming the Hellespont?

William Etty (1787–1849), Hero, Having Thrown herself from the Tower at the Sight of Leander Drowned, Dies on his Body (1829), oil on canvas, 75 x 92.5 cm, formerly in a Private collection, now in The Tate Gallery, London. Wikimedia Commons.

Did Byron swim Hellespont?

Lord Byron swam across the Hellespont, or Dardanelles, in 1810. ... Born with a club foot, Byron found a freedom in the water that he could not experience on land. And forget poetic or political success: Byron often claimed that his biggest ever achievement was one particular swim - across the Hellespont on 3 May, 1810.