Steve Brodie's Brooklyn Bridge leap claim

On July 23, 1886, William "Steve" Brodie claimed to have jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River and survived; the story was widely reported in New York newspapers. Many contemporaries and later historians questioned the veracity of his claim, with some suggesting the event was staged. Brodie used the notoriety to open a saloon and became a minor celebrity, and his alleged jump remains one of the city's best-known tall tales.