From the Detroit Free Press:
Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to survive a barrel ride over Niagara Falls on Oct. 24, 1901.
The 63-year-old Bay City teacher used a self-designed barrel that was 4 1/2 feet high and approximately 3 feet in diameter, with a leather harness and cushions for protection, according to the New York Times story from the following day. Thousands of people watched her daredevil drop over Horseshoe Falls, which left her in shock and with a 3-inch cut on her scalp and shoulder pain likely from the jerking.