The 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks (Episode 103)

In July of 1916, five swimmers at the Jersey Shore were attacked by a shark. Four suffered fatal wounds and the fifth required two months in the hospital to recover. The "New Jersey Man-Eater" was front-page news across the country, and the attacks are still a subject of debate, scrutiny, and speculation. On this episode, Ella talks about the five attacks, the sharks who may (or may not) have been responsible, and the beach dangers much more likely to cause a fatal accident.

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Sources for this episode include:

"Twelve Days of Terror", R. G. Fernicola, 2016

"Two Weeks, Four Deaths, and the Start of America's Fear of Sharks", V. McCall for National Geographic, 2019

"The Real-Life ‘Jaws’ That Terrorized the Jersey Shore", C. Klein for History, 2023

"The 1916 Shark Attacks That Gave Sharks a Bad Rap" by N. Gonzalez for Brittanica, n.d.

"The Shark Attacks That Were the Inspiration for Jaws", M. Gambino for Smithsonian, 2012