#462 The Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916

<p>TERROR ON THE BEACH! Seaside resorts from Cape May, New Jersey, to Montauk, Long Island, were paralyzed in fear during the summer of 1916.</p><p>Not because of the threat of lurking German U-boats and saboteurs. But because of sharks.On July 1, 1916, <strong>Charles Epting Vansant</strong> was killed by a shark while swimming at a resort in Beach Haven, a popular destination on the Jersey Shore.</p><p>At first, this terrible tragedy received only limited attention. After all, millions were flocking to the beaches along the Jersey Shore and throughout the New York region -- Coney Island, the Rockaways and Staten Island's South Beach.</p><p>Shark attacks were the stuff of pirate legends and dramatic works of art. Most experts were skeptical that sharks were dangerous <i>at all</i>; the Maryland mogul <strong>Hermann Oelrichs</strong> offered $500 to any person with proof that sharks were dangerous to humans. Nobody claimed the reward.</p><p>But during that July, sharks did threaten th...