Three years later, Odlum became the first person to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge, egged on, his mother insisted, by Boyton. ADSoon, Merriman was advertising the rubber suit in U.S. newspapers. ADIt appears that Boyton and Odlum met in 1879 when the man in the rubber suit was doing his show on the Potomac. In October, Boyton sent Odlum a letter: “The man to work a jump from the East River Bridge is Richard K. Fox; write him. I will see him again and will speak to him.”The East River Bridge was the original name for the Brooklyn Bridge.

Source: Washington Post February 23, 2020 21:11 UTC