About Lynne Cox
Lynne Cox is an American long-distance open water swimmer, writer, and speaker. She is best known for being the first person to swim between the United States and the Soviet Union, across the Bering Strait, a feat which has been recognized for easing Cold War tensions between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1975, Cox became the first woman to swim the 10 °C (50 °F), 16 km (9.9 mi) Cook Strait in New Zealand. She has twice held the record for the fastest crossing of the English Channel from England to France (1972 in a time of 9 hours 57 minutes and 1973 in a time of 9 hours 36 minutes).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.