Tommy Burns: A pioneering stuntman

Tommy Burns initially achieved fame by diving off bridges but, in the words of the Liverpool Echo after his death in 1897, ‘Tommy was one of those erratic geniuses who are never content unless bent on extraordinary enterprises’.

There is no doubt that he was a pioneering stuntman and his so‑called extraordinary enterprises included:

• a dive from a moving tram into George’s Dock, Liverpool. Read more >>>
• a dive from a moving train in Liverpool. Read more >>>
• a dive from a moving train in London. Read more >>>
• a dive from a moving train on the Tay Bridge. Read more >>>
• a dive from the roof of Winsford Town Hall. Read more >>>
• an attempted dive from a tenement into the Water of Leith. Read more>>>
• a leap from Runcorn Bridge holding a toy parachute. Read more>>>