Many Americans today know about Robert Craig Knievel, a.k.a. “Evel Knievel,” the internationally known daredevil. Evel Knievel was not the first or only American daredevil of any renowned. Another daredevil born long before Evel Knievel was a man by the name of Peter (a.k.a. Peder) Nissen, a 20-year-old immigrant from Denmark (though born in Germany) who arrived in the America on March 21, 1883. Peter’s occupation is recorded on immigration records as a “Tyende (mlk land),” a Danish term for “Farm hand.” There is no indication Peter was anything but a young man who performed manual labor and invented “novelties and labor-saving devices,” despite having graduated from Indiana State Normal College at Valparaiso. Of course, that was the case for many immigrants of the early 1900s. Nissen eventually moved to Chicago where he lived until his death.
Peder “Peter” Nissen (circa 1900)
Born during the Gilded Age in 1863, Peter Nissen reached national prominence for his madcap feats during the early 20th Century, which historians call “The Progressive Era.” Unlike Evel Knievel, Peter Nissen had several nicknames and pseudonym: F. M. Bowser; Peter ‘Bowser’ Nissen; The Chicago Daredevil; and the Great Lakes Daredevil.
It was and still is unclear why Nissen used the pseudonym F. M. Bowser. At the time, “Bowser” was a term for a tanker used for fueling vehicles or supplying water. Perhaps it was derived from his purchase of a submarine designed and built by Lodner D. Phillips in early 1870. The submarine looked like a long metal storage tank with pointed ends . . . a cigar shape. The vessel sank and remained on the bottom of the Chicago River for 25 years until Peter Nissen purchased it. Nissen made some experiments with the submarine. The vessel suddenly disappeared in 1891. Nissen had no knowledge of its whereabouts. The submarine was accidentally discovered in 1915 by a diver working along with a dredge that uncovered it under several feet of river bottom mud.
One newspaper reported that Nissen worked as a bookkeeper for Jesse & Rosberg, but lived in poverty. (One can only assume that was because he spent his money on building his inventions for daredevil feats.) His death certificate issued in Michigan reports him as single and his occupation as a foreman in a furniture factory. Whatever his occupation, Nissen did not find it as satisfying as being a daredevil, twice taking on the daunting challenge of boating through the rapids and the “Whirlpool” of the Niagara Falls River. His trip was planned to go from the Falls to Lewiston, NY, via the Niagara River, in his ingenious craft specifically designed to withstand the whirlpool rapids, that he named Foolkiller.
Peter’s first attempt was on July 9, 1900. He was successful, though the boat floated for an hour in the “Whirlpool.” He did take readings of the depths of the Whirlpool during the time spinning around the vortex. Eventually the boat made it to shore; Nissen waited until the next day to finish his planned trip to Lewiston.
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