USAUnited States

Amelia ‘Millie’ Gade Corson

Second woman and first mother across the Channel · August 1926

Also recorded as Mille Gade, Millie Corson, Clemington Corson.

Other recorded names: Mille Gade; Clemington Corson
Country of birth: Denmark
Moved to the United States: 1919
Occupation: Lifeguard and lifesaving instructor
Channel distinction: Second successful woman; first mother
Archive collection: Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Biography

Amelia ‘Millie’ Gade Corson was a Danish-born American endurance swimmer and swimming instructor. She moved to the United States in 1919 and worked as a lifeguard and lifesaving instructor at the Harlem branch of the YWCA. Her early American achievements included a swim around Manhattan Island and a staged journey down the Hudson from Albany to New York in 1921.

Her first Channel attempt in 1923 ended short of the French coast. She returned in 1926 and became the second woman, and the first mother, to complete the crossing, following Gertrude Ederle’s achievement earlier that month. Her successful route ran from Cap Gris-Nez to Shakespeare Beach. The Channel record lists 15 hours and 23 minutes, with other historical accounts giving different durations.

Corson returned to public celebrations in New York and made vaudeville appearances. Her photographs, scrapbooks and swimming certificates are preserved by the Smithsonian. Her career helped demonstrate the possibilities of women’s distance swimming during the sport’s early international growth.

Selected Channel swim records

Second successful Channel swim by a woman

Sources disagree

Corson completed the Channel after her unsuccessful 1923 attempt and followed Gertrude Ederle as the second woman to succeed.

Elapsed swim time · 15h 23m

15h 23m in the CSA record; competing historical durations remain unresolved

Started · Friday, 27 August 1926 · Clock time not confirmed

Finished · Saturday, 28 August 1926 · Clock time not confirmed

Timing note · The 27–28 August date span follows the Smithsonian collection guide. CSA lists 15h 23m; Dover Museum’s biography gives 15h 28m and dates the swim 27 August; the Smithsonian guide gives 15¾ hours. No start or finish clock is treated as confirmed. The selected date span and duration come from explicitly identified records, not a reconciled original log.

Format · Solo · 1-way

Direction · France → England

Departure · Cap Gris-Nez, France

Arrival · Shakespeare Beach, Dover, England

Ratification / historical recognition · Historical swim; retrospective CSA record

How this record was checked

CSA record 2237 supplies United States, France-to-England and 15:23. The Smithsonian collection guide supplies 27–28 August 1926 and the first-mother distinction. Dover Museum identifies Cap Gris-Nez and Shakespeare Beach but differs on duration. These historical accounts were compared; no original observer report or route chart was inspected.

Channel Swimming Association: Clemington (Millie) O. Corson, 1926

Checked 2026-10-30

Smithsonian: Mille Gade Corson Collection NMAH.AC.0063

Checked 2026-10-30

Dover Museum archive: Corson biography

Checked 2026-10-30

Other events & swims

Manhattan Island circumnavigation

Open-water swimming · Solo swim

1921 · exact day not confirmed

Manhattan, New York City, USA

Completed a swim around Manhattan Island, identified by the Smithsonian as the second woman to do so.

Historical account checked

How this event was checked

The Smithsonian catalogue’s biography explicitly dates the circumnavigation to 1921 and identifies the Channel swimmer. IMSHOF corroborates the completion; neither inspected source supplies an exact day or duration.

Smithsonian National Museum of American History — Corson certificate

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Catalogue biography identifies the 1921 Manhattan swim and 1926 Channel swimmer.

Limitations · The object’s 1920 manufacture date is not the Manhattan swim date.

IMSHOF — Amelia Gade Corson, honoree biography

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · 1921 Manhattan and Hudson swims; Channel identity.

Limitations · English and Danish versions disagree on cumulative Hudson swimming time.

Hudson River — Albany to Manhattan

Open-water swimming · Staged event

1921 · exact day not confirmed

Albany to Manhattan, New York, USA

Completed a multi-day river journey with rests; this is not presented as a continuous solo elapsed-time record.

Published distance · 187 km reported by IMSHOF

Sources disagree

How this event was checked

IMSHOF dates this swim to 1921, gives 187 km, and describes more than five days with sleep stops. Its English text gives 63:35 swimming time, while the Danish translation gives 63:53. Neither figure is used as total elapsed time.

IMSHOF — Amelia Gade Corson, honoree biography

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · 1921 Manhattan and Hudson swims; Channel identity.

Limitations · English and Danish versions disagree on cumulative Hudson swimming time.

Career milestones

Moved to the United States

1919

Emigrated from Denmark and subsequently worked in lifesaving and swimming instruction in New York.

Manhattan and Hudson swims

1921

Circled Manhattan Island and completed a staged Albany-to-New York swim.

First Channel attempt

August 1923

Stopped close to France after an unsuccessful England-to-France attempt.

Successful Channel crossing

August 1926

Became the second successful woman and first mother to swim the Channel.

Professional swimming recognition

1927

Awarded associate life membership of the International Professional Swimmers Association.

Recordings & media

No reviewed recording is available for this entry.

English Channel questions

Which English Channel swims are included for Amelia ‘Millie’ Gade Corson?: This profile includes 1 selected solo performance for Amelia ‘Millie’ Gade Corson. It is a selected history, not a complete career total. A continuous multi-way swim counts as one performance.
When was Amelia ‘Millie’ Gade Corson’s featured English Channel swim?: The featured swim started on Friday, 27 August 1926 and finished on Saturday, 28 August 1926. Conflicting details are identified in the crossing record.
How long did Amelia ‘Millie’ Gade Corson’s featured Channel swim take?: The featured solo crossing has a published elapsed time of 15 hours and 23 minutes. Published sources disagree about details of this swim; the crossing record explains the differences.

Biography sources