ON THIS DAY

February 9, 1863 – Seraphim “Joe” Fortes, a prominent early Vancouverite, was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Arriving in Vancouver after surviving a shipwreck, Fortes held a number of jobs, but was best known as a swimming instructor and unpaid lifeguard in English Bay. Over a decade later, he was appointed the city’s first official lifeguard. In 1986 he was posthumously named Citizen of the Century by the Vancouver Historical Society.