Ralph Samuelson
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.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.Gaining confidence on the water, he began jumping wakes, but broke the original skis (the remains of which were believed to be found on a beach on Pepin) in one landing.Samuelson first succeeded on June 28 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.Also that year, he became the first speed skier as he found himself racing across the water at 80 mph (130 km/h), pulled by a Curtiss flying boat that flew just above the waves.