List of fatal shark attacks in the United States
Name , Age Date Species Location ; Comments
Petty Officer Isadore Stessel July 18 , 1943 Unconfirmed The blimp Stessel was on was shot down by a U-Boat roughly 40 miles east of Islamorada , Florida . Just before being rescued , he was killed by a shark
John Kuntsler May 8 , 1945 Unconfirmed Kunstler was killed while swimming in Ocracoke Inlet , North Carolina
Ralph Reginald Rives , Jr. , 20 August 4 , 1947 Unconfirmed , probably a bull shark Attacked while swimming in a canal 10 miles ( 20 km ) north of St. Augustine , Florida , Rives ' leg was severely bitten . The Jacksonville papers initially and erroneously reported this as a barracuda attack . He died in the hospital after attempts to save him were unsuccessful
Neil Womack February 13 , 1948 Unknown Womack 's plane crashed in the ocean near Brownsville , Texas . He died three days later after being attacked by sharks when he fell out of his life raft
Clide Osborne , 46 July 1 , 1948 Unknown Osborne was in a boat 50 yards offshore in Saint John , U.S. Virgin Islands when he either fell off or jumped off the boat while intoxicated . He refused to climb back onto the boat and started to yell he was being attacked by a shark , and was pulled underwater . His body was never recovered
1940s
This is a list of fatal shark attacks that occurred in United States territorial waters by decade in chronological order.