About Bill Burgess
Thomas William Burgess was the second person to successfully complete a swim of the English Channel after Matthew Webb, following sixteen attempts. Burgess was British but spent most of his life in France, and won a bronze medal with the French water polo team at the 1900 Olympics. Burgess competed in swimming and water polo at the 1900 Olympics held in Paris and won a bronze medal playing for the French team despite his British nationality, which was allowed by the rules at that time. On 6 September 1911, on his 16th attempt, Burgess became the second person to swim across the English Channel, and the first one to use goggles. In 1926 he coached Gertrude Ederle, who became the first woman to swim the English Channel.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.