George Freeth

George Douglas Freeth Jr. was an American lifeguard, surfer and swimming instructor of English and Native Hawaiian descent, born on November 8, 1883, who died on April 7, 1919. He grew up in and around the ocean at Waikiki and helped renew interest in the traditional Hawaiian sport of surfing there in the early twentieth century, then popularized it in Southern California after arriving in Los Angeles in 1907. He worked as a lifeguard in California, helping build the foundation of the state's professional lifeguard service, competed as an amateur and professional swimmer and water polo player, and coached swimmers at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, among them Duke Kahanamoku. He caught influenza in the 1918 pandemic and died in San Diego in April 1919.