13. Barry Wilson’s death in California shocked a nation.
California is the land of sunshine, easy living, surfing – and sharks. However, it wasn’t until 1952 that a fatal shark attack on a person was recorded in the state. Famously, many people were on the beach that day to witness the attack that left Barry Wilson, a 17-year-old musician, dead.
It was a sunny day in December when the attack took place. Wilson, a keen and talented tuba player, was swimming with a friend close to Lover’s Point in the small town of Pacific Grove. The pair were just 40 feet from the shore, with the Pacific Ocean around 30 feet deep below them. All of a sudden, Wilson was grabbed from below. Eyewitnesses on the beach described how he was shaken from side to side before the shark tossed him up in the air and then pulled him under the surface. Wilson appeared again, surrounded by a pool of water.
Incredibly, a group of young men from a local diving club dived into he ocean and went to Wilson’s aid. They managed to fend the shark off and then fought against the waves for 30 minutes to get him back to shore. All the while, the bloodthirsty shark was circling and following them. However, the seriousness of the wounds to his legs, back and buttocks was so severe that Wilson had bled to death by the time they managed to get him back on land.
The Pacific Grove shark attack of 1952 is now part of Californian lore. What’s more, the nature of the attack – with the victim flailing and then being pulled under in a pool of their own blood has been used as the inspiration for numerous fictional incidents, most notably in Hollywood movies.