Freeth, George (1883 – 1919)

Colonizing surfer from Honolulu, Hawaii; referred to in his time as the first expert Caucasian surfer, and long regarded as the original American surfer after his 1907 wave-riding demonstrations in Southern California. Although it was later proven that Mainland waves had in fact been ridden as far back as 1885, it was Freeth, with help from fellow Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku, who established the sport in the continental United States.

Freeth was born (1883) in Honolulu to an Irish sea ca...