Robert Gaston Moch (June 20, 1914 – January 18, 2005) was an American

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

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 ...

. Moch was born and raised in

Montesano, Washington Montesano is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, Grays Harbor County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 4,138 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grays Harbor County. Hi ...

. He was the class valedictorian at Montesano High in 1932. His father Gaston Moch was a watchmaker and jeweller of Swiss descent. He coxed 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 eight 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.At the

1936 Olympics 1936 Olympics may refer to: *The 1936 Winter Olympics, which were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany *The 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI ...

, he won the gold medal as

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat ...

of the American boat in the eights competition. His role as a coxswain for the

and Olympic crew 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. . After college, Moch signed on as assistant crew coach at the

, under his old coach. Moch later went on to become the head crew coach at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and earned his law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. Moch became a successful lawyer in Seattle and won a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moch, Robert 1914 births 2005 deaths People from Montesano, Washington Coxswains (rowing) Rowers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing University of Washington alumni American male rowers Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Harvard Law School alumni