Albert, Professor John (Ahlfeldt, John Albert)

Known as Professor Albert the Scandinavian swimming champion but spent all his life in England until he emigrated to the USA.

He was born in Guttenberg, Sweden, in 1854 as John Adolph Åhlfeldt, but he seems to have been sent to relatives in Lancashire when he was still a baby – he was baptised at Heaton Mersey, Stockport, Manchester, on Christmas Day 1857. His parents were unmarried teenagers when he was born and didn’t marry until 1864. His parents and their subsequent children remained in Sweden

He had moved to London by 1880 and then resided in Surrey, including Kingston and West Molesey

He signed up for the Sporting Life Channel Race in 1891, which was called off after waiting three days for improved conditions, and announced in July 1892 that he was to make another attempt in August. There is no record of any attempt being made

In 1893 he travelled to the USA where he had taken a swimming exhibition and cafe stand as Exhibitor and Concessionaire at the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. He never returned, moving his family over there to be with him

He set up in business in Chicago as “Professor John A. Albert, Champion High-Diver and Long-Distance Swimmer of the World, with his Great Water Carnival and Pantomine and his World Famous Caterers, Cafes, Restaurants & Natatoriums for Ladies and Gentlemen”

He died in Chicago in 1910