BEVERLY — When Henry Sullivan of Lowell became the first American to swim the English Channel in 1923, he was congratulated by the prince of Wales and spent the next four years touring the world as a celebrity.
By the time he died in 1953, he had been living a quiet life in Beverly, the once-famous swimmer taking an occasional dip in the Porter River behind his home in Ryal Side.
All these years later, memories of Sullivan's historic feat, and to some extent his largely forgotten North Shore ties, are being revived.
On Friday, the 3-foot-tall sterling silver trophy he earned for his swim will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The trophy was passed down in Sullivan's family through the years and was recently consigned for sale to Skinner Auctioneers & Appraisers of Boston.
Sara Wishart, Skinner's director of fine silver, said the trophy has an estimated value of $30,000 to $50,000.
"It's an incredible piece of silversmithing," she said. "It's a stunning object in and of itself, and when you delve into the reasons why it was given, it's just so fascinating."
Sullivan was 34 years old when he completed his crossing of the English Channel, after six failed attempts. He was only the third person, and the first American, to accomplish the feat. The direct distance from Dover, England, to Calais, France, is 22.5 miles, but after being pushed off course by strong tides, it is estimated that the stocky, 5-foot-7-inch Sullivan ended up swimming 56 miles.
His time of 26 hours and 50 minutes was an amazing display of endurance, but it also stood as the slowest crossing until 2010, when a British woman took 28 hours and 44 minutes. The record for the fastest swim is six hours and 57 minutes.
Sullivan was given a $5,000 prize by the London Daily Sketch newspaper and was awarded the British Challenge Cup, which his representatives would describe as "the world's handsomest trophy." He was greeted in London by the Prince of Wales and toured England and Scotland, then returned to the United States and traveled the country for four years on the vaudeville circuit, speaking about his accomplishment and showing a film of his swim.
According to Sullivan's obituary, he lived in Beverly for more than 20 years before dying in 1953 at age 64. He owned the Sullivan Building Wrecking Co., which, according to a 1951 Beverly business directory, was at the corner of Federal and Park streets. He was married and had one daughter and a granddaughter.
According to a newspaper story during Sullivan's Beverly years, he lived on Melvin Avenue in Ryal Side and was content to "leave the pioneering and wandering to the young fellows." He kept his trophies, including the one that will go on sale this month, on a table on his sun porch.
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by email at pleighton@salemnews.com.
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