Aarti Gupta (24 September 1940 - 23 August 1994) was born in Calcutta, West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Aarti was initiated in swimming at the early age of four, and her talent was spotted by Sachin Nag

Sachin Nag

Sachin Nag was a great swimming champion of India.-Some of the Achievements of Nag's swimming career:London Olympics 1948 selection meet happened at Azad Hind Bag’s National corner...

. From 1945 to 1951 she won 22 State competitions including an all-India record in 1949. She took part in the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 along with Dolly Bindra

Dolly Bindra

Dolly Bindra is a Indian film and television actress, known for her roles in films like Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and as a participant in the reality TV series, Bigg Boss in 2010.-Career:...

.

She was inspired by Indian swimmer Mihir Sen to try and cross the English Channel.
On 29 September 1959 she was the first woman from Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 to swim the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

, from Cape Gris Nez, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 to Sandgate

Sandgate

Sandgate can be:*Sandgate, Kent*Sandgate Castle*Sandgate, Queensland*Sandgate, New South Wales, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales*Sandgate, Vermont*Electoral district of Sandgate, Queensland, Australia...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. She swam the 42 miles in 16 hours 20 minutes, and hoisted the flag of India

Flag of India

The National flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of deep saffron, white and India green; with the Ashok Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the...

 at Sandgate. She was awarded Padmashri in the year 1960. She died on 23 August 1994 of jaundice

Jaundice

Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...

. In 1998, a set of Indian stamps was issued to commemorate the contribution of Indian women in various fields, including Aarti Gupta.