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{{Short description|Inventor of water skiing}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ralph Samuelson
| image = Ralph Samuelson.jpg
| birth_name = Ralph Wilford Samuelson
| birth_date = July 3, 1903
| death_date = August 28, 1977 (aged 74)
| known_for = Invention of [[water skiing]]
}}
'''Ralph Wilford Samuelson''' (July 3, 1903 – August 28, 1977) was the inventor of [[water skiing]], which he first performed in the summer of 1922 in [[Lake City, Minnesota]], just before his 19th birthday. Samuelson was already skilled at [[Aquaplaning_(sport)|aquaplaning]]—standing on a board while being pulled by a [[Motorboat|powerboat]]—but he hoped to create something like snow skiing on the water.<ref name= "father">{{cite magazine |last=Harmon |first=Jim |author-link=Jim Harmon |url= https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/08/10/the-dashing-splashing-father-of-waterskiing |title=The Dashing, Splashing Father of Waterskiing |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=August 10, 1987 |access-date=September 26, 2021}}</ref> [[Lake Pepin]], a wide portion of the [[Mississippi River]] between Minnesota and [[Wisconsin]], was the venue for his experiments.<ref name= "event">{{cite news |last=Bouffard |first=Kevin |url= https://www.theledger.com/news/20191010/winter-haven-to-host-international-water-ski-event-in-2022 |title=Winter Haven to host international water ski event in 2022 |work=[[The Ledger]] |date=October 10, 2019 |access-date=September 26, 2021}}</ref>
==Patent==
Samuelson did not patent his invention, nor was his work sufficiently publicized at the time to prevent U.S. Patent 1,559,390 for water skis from being subsequently issued, on October 27, 1925, to prolific inventor [[Fred Waller]] of [[Huntington, New York]].<ref name= "Waller">{{cite news |last=Winans |first=Jess |url=https://www.longislandpress.com/2017/11/27/fred-waller-rode-the-wave-of-fame/ |title=Fred Waller Rode the Wave of Fame |newspaper=[[Long Island Press]] |date=November 27, 2017 |access-date=September 26, 2021}}</ref> Waller marketed his product as "Dolphin Akwa-Skees". Waller later invented the cinema widescreen motion picture system, and in 1952's ''[[This Is Cinerama]]'', the first feature film released in the panoramic format, water skiing at [[Cypress Gardens, Florida]], was a prominently featured subject. Famed journalist Lowell Thomas was an early investor in [[Cinerama]], and in his introduction to the book ''Water Skiing'' (1958, [[Prentice-Hall]]), by [[Dick Pope, Sr.]], creator of [[Cypress Gardens]], Thomas described the connection between Waller and water skiing's prominence as a subject in the motion picture. In several instances in the book, Pope reiterates—erroneously, we now know—that Waller was the first to invent water skis.

==Early attempts==
Samuelson's early attempts included using staves from [[wood]]en [[barrel]]s and snow skis before he created new skis made of [[pine]] boards 8 feet long and 9 inches wide (240 × 23 cm). He bent up the front tips after softening the wood by boiling them in his mother's [[copper]] [[kettle]]. Gaining confidence on the water, he began jumping [[Wake (physics)|wake]]s, but broke the original skis (the remains of which were believed to be found on a beach on Pepin) in one landing. His slightly modified second pair still exists; today they are at the Lake City Chamber of Commerce, in Lake City, Minnesota.

Samuelson first succeeded on June 28, 1922, by starting off wearing skis while standing on top of an aquaplane board, and then slipping one foot and then the other into the water.<ref name="Hall of Fame">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040626090303/http://www.waterskihalloffame.com/pages/Bios/Ralph%20Samuelson.htm Ralph Samuelson.]}} Water Ski Hall of Fame.</ref>

==Ski jumping==
He attracted a lot of attention locally in the following days and weeks. On July 8, 1925, Samuelson went on to perform the first ski jump on water.<ref name="Hall of Fame"/> He fell flat in his first attempt, but soon greased the launch platform with [[lard]] and succeeded on the second try. Also that year, on August 27, 1925, he became the first speed skier as he found himself racing across the water at {{convert|80|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}, pulled by a [[Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company|Curtiss]] [[flying boat]] that flew just above the waves.<ref name= "father"/><ref>quoting the ''Wabasha County Leader'' of August 28, 1925.</ref>

==Later years==
In his later years, Samuelson moved to [[Pine Island, Minnesota]] where he was a [[turkey (bird)|turkey]] farmer.<ref name= "innovations">{{cite news |last=Rebeck |first=Gene |url= https://www.minnpost.com/twin-cities-business/2015/06/50-minnesota-innovations-changed-world/ |title=50 Minnesota innovations that changed the world |work=[[MinnPost]] |date=June 19, 2015 |access-date=September 26, 2021}}</ref> He was a guest of honor at a water skiing 50th anniversary in 1972, and was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame on January 22, 1977. When he returned to Minnesota, he began to suffer the effects of [[cancer]], and died in Pine Island on August 28, 1977.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040626090303/http://www.waterskihalloffame.com/pages/Bios/Ralph%20Samuelson.htm Ralph Samuelson.]}} Water Ski Hall of Fame.
*Andreas [[Jordahl]] Rhude. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050503195310/http://www.acbs-bslol.com/Porthole/BirthofWaterSki.htm Minnesota - Birthplace of Water Skiing.] The Boathouse.

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, Ralph}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Lake City, Minnesota]]
[[Category:People from Pine Island, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Sports inventors and innovators]]
[[Category:American water skiers]]

Ralph Samuelson - Revision history

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