Harry Huffaker

Harry Withers Huffaker (December 27, 1939 – January 29, 2026) was an American marathon swimmer and dentist who pioneered open water crossings of the channels between the Hawaiian Islands. An All-American at the University of Michigan, he made repeated unsuccessful attempts on the English Channel in the 1960s before moving to Honolulu, where he practiced dentistry for some three decades and became the first person to swim several Hawaiian channels, including the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel in 1970 and the Kalohi Channel in 1989.

Huffaker was inducted into the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame in 2002 and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer in 2011. He lived aboard a sailboat in Honolulu for several years and later retired to Ketchum, Idaho.

Early life and education

Huffaker was born on December 27, 1939, in Long Island, New York, the second son of Melvin Simpson Huffaker, a lawyer, and Dorothy Perkins Huffaker. The family moved to Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where his father practiced law.