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The following definition of the phrase dead man’s float is from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED – online edition, June 2026):
A floating position, often taught in swimming lessons or as a survival technique, in which a person lies face down in the water, typically with arms outstretched or extended forward and legs extended backward, and breathes by taking occasional deep breaths while turning or raising the head.
The OED then adds the following explanation:
The position is reminiscent of that of a person who has drowned and resurfaced, the bodily gases from the decomposition process commonly making the body float.
The earliest occurrence of the phrase dead man’s float that the OED has recorded is as follows, from an article published in The Leicestershire Mercury, and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties (Leicester, Leicestershire, England) of Saturday 12th November 1842 [page 1, column 6]:
A lad..accompanying him to bathe, said ‘I can do the dead man’s float,’ which he performed by practice.
It is incomprehensible that the OED does not mention the fact that the article in question refers to floating on one’s back, not in a prone position. Additionally, that unsigned article had first appeared as follows in The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser (Truro, Cornwall, England) of Friday 6th August 1841 [page 4, column 6]—this, incidentally, is the earliest occurrence of the phrase dead man’s float that I have found:
Modes to Escape Drowning.—Persons unable to swim, on falling into the water, may preserve themselves from drowning by moving their legs up and down, as if walking up stairs; boys practice it, and call it treading water; in a few minutes help may arrive. […] If assistance does not soon arrive, lay yourself on the back, elevating the chest; the more the head is lain back, the easier you will float, and for a great length of time, occasionally moving the hands. The writer can lie on his back in the sea as flat as on a table *, and a lad under ten years accompanying him to bathe, said, “I can do the dead man’s float,” which he confirmed by practice.
* The use of the noun table here is interesting, because the colloquial French expression faire la planche, literally to do the plank, means: to float on one’s back.
The other early occurrences of dead man’s float that I have found confirm that this phrase originally referred to floating on one’s back. They are as follows, in chronological order:
1-: From an account of the coroner’s inquest into the death by drowning of one James B. Hewson, held at the Atlantic Hotel, Ballybunnion, County Kerry, Ireland, on Thursday 14th July 1859—account published in The Constitution; Or, Cork Advertiser (Cork, County Cork, Ireland) of Tuesday 19th July 1859 [page 3, column 7]:
John O’Connor, of Kilmeany, stated—[…] I saw the deceased walk smartly towards the beach. When he came opposite where I was, I saw him take off his hat, and wipe his forehead with a handkerchief. He undressed then and went into the water. I saw him swim out to a good distance […]. I saw him immediately afterwards as if drifted in by the waves and not very far from the shore […]. I saw him stand in shallow water not as high as his hips, he was then within two perches of the shore; I saw him then dive, and I thought it was concealing himself from some women who were on the shore; I saw him then float as if imitating the dead man’s float; I then saw him turn on his face, and I then ran down as I knew he was drowning and took off my shoes, coat, and hat, and went up to my hips in the water to try and save him but the tide was taking his body beyond my reach.
2-: From the Clonmel Chronicle. Tipperary Express and Advertiser (Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland) of Wednesday 19th June 1861 [page 2, column 4]—however, this text does not specify what dead man’s float precisely refers to:
Melancholy Death by Drowning.—On Saturday evening last, a young lad named Thomas Cullen, residing with his parents at Carrick, went in company with six or seven boys in the river Suir. He incautiously—not being able to swim—threw himself under the water saying he would try a “dead man’s float.” The tide was going out, and the little fellow was carried beyond his depth. When he rose to the surface he found himself unable to get back. He threw up his hands in terror, and shrieked! His little companions could not get near him, and no one was there but a countryman carrying a basket, who did not tender any assistance, in consequenc [sic], it is thought of not being able to swim. The boy sank and rose again and again, for several times, until he was carried off lifeless by the current. An inquest was held by Mr. Coroner Shee, and a verdict in accordance with these melancholy facts was returned.
3-: From an account of the coroner’s inquest into the death by drowning of two brothers, George Williams Lenton, aged 21, and Henry Williams Lenton, aged 15, held at the Green Dragon Inn, Gillingham, Kent, England, on Monday 20th June 1870—account published in The Chatham Observer, Rochester, Strood, Brompton, and Gillingham Chronicle, and General Intelligencer (Chatham, Kent, England) of Saturday 25th June 1870 [page 4, column 5]:
Edward Cole, apprentice […], said: […] They wanted me to go in the water to them, but it was so muddy that I refused. The oldest of the brothers then said “See me do a dead man’s float.” He then laid upon his back in the water, and shortly afterwards I saw him splashing about in the water as if in trouble.
4-: From an account of the display of natation that took place in the Bay of Weymouth, Dorset, England, on Monday 14th August 1871—account published in the Southern Times: Dorsetshire Herald, Weymouth and Portland Gazette, and General Advertiser for Dorset, Somerset, Devon, Wilts, and Hants (Weymouth, Dorset, England) of Saturday 19th August 1871 [page 10, column 4]:
Professor Moore, of London, the renowned one-legged swimmer, disported himself in the Bay. He first commenced by doing the “dead man’s” float, and remained as motionless as a veritable corpse. He afterwards undressed himself with great ease whilst on his back, and then rolled over and over like a barrel.
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