Frederick Edward Beckwith, Professor Beckwith , was a noted open water swimmer who was ‘professional English champion’ and swimming professor at the Lambeth Baths in the UK. He organized swimming shows as he billed himself as the ” Greatest Swimmer in the World ” in 1851. He backed Matthew Webb to be the first person to swim the English Channel . Beckwith organised a spectacle by showing Webb swimming miles in the River Thames .