Charles Ward Day (October 19, 1914 – May 26, 1962) was an American rower who won Olympic gold at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. The son of a dentist, Day was born in

Colville, Washington Colville is a city in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,673 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stevens County. History John Work, an agent for The Hudson's Bay Company, established Fort Colvile near the ...

. Day rowed in the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

senior varsity eights which won US national

Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs intercollegiate rowing between varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, while the NCAA fulfills this role for women's ope ...

titles in 1936 and 1937. In 1936, he won the Olympic gold medal rowing in the two seat of the American boat in the eights competition. His role in the

eight and their Olympic victory is explored in the 2013 non-fiction book by author Daniel James Brown, ''

The Boys in the Boat ''The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics'' is a non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown and published on June 4, 2013. Background ''The Boys in the Boat'' is a true story based ...

''.Brown, Daniel James (2013). ''The Boys In The Boat'', Viking / Penguin Group, New York. . A medical graduate, Day served as Naval doctor in the South Pacific theatre of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Post-war he practised as a gynaecologist. He died of lung cancer due to years of heavy smoking at age 47.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Charles 1914 births 1962 deaths People from Colville, Washington Rowers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing American male rowers Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics