The 3rd Boat Race took place on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

on 3 April 1839. It was the second of the University Boat Races to be held on the

, this time between

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and Putney. Cambridge had competed against Leander Club in 1837 and 1838; it had been three years since Oxford and Cambridge raced against one another. Representatives of both universities and an independent referee oversaw the proceedings. Cambridge won the race by 35 lengths, as of 2019 the largest winning margin in the history of the event.

Background

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and takes place on the

in southwest London. No race between the two universities was held in 1837 or 1838, instead Cambridge raced against Leander Club those years. The umpires for the race were C. B. Wollaston (for Oxford) and C. J. Selwyn (for Cambridge), while W. H. Harrison acted as referee. Cambridge's boat was constructed by Searle of Stangate, while Oxford's "beautifully constructed" vessel was built by King of Oxford.MacMichael, p. 58 The race was scheduled to take place on a five-and-three-quarter-mile stretch between Westminster Bridge and Putney Bridge. Oxford were trained by a Thames waterman while Cambridge were guided by their cox,

Thomas Selby Egan Thomas Selby Egan (25 December 1814 – 11 May 1893) was a coxswain, a rowing coach, and a German scholar. As a coxswain for Cambridge University, he coxed the first Cambridge boat to win The Boat Race. Egan was born in London, the son ...

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 11 st 10.5 lb (74.4 kg) per rower, almost more per man than their opponents. None of the Oxford crew from the 1836 featured in this year's race; however, both the stroke Edmund Stanley and cox Egan returned for Cambridge, the former being described by ''

Bell's Life ''Bell's Life...'' was a group of newspapers produced in Australia in the mid-nineteenth century based upon the English publication ''Bell's Life in London''. Most publications lasted a short duration. The subtitles were usually ''sporting ch ...

'' as "really terrific, one of the severest we ever saw". Oxford's boat club president was Calverley Bewicke who rowed at

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

for the Dark Blues, while Cambridge had a non-rowing president in Augustus Granville. William_Baliol_Brett

Race

The umpires for the race were Charles Woolaston and C. J. Selwyn, while W. Harrison Esq, the Commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, fulfilled the position of referee. The race was held on a Wednesday, 3 April 1839, the start time of "precisely" 4.47pm, in conditions described by MacMichael as "cold, cloudy and windy, and just the very worst sort of day for an aquatic expedition".MacMichael, p. 60 According to ''Bell's Life'', Cambridge were slight favourites.MacMichael, pp. 58–59 Oxford won the toss and elected to commence closest to the Middlesex shore of the river. After a close start, the Cambridge boat started to draw away and by Vauxhall Bridge were "several boats' lengths" ahead. They increased their lead further by Battersea Bridge and shot Putney Bridge 1 minute 45 seconds ahead, and won by a margin of 35 lengths which remains, as of 2019, the largest in the history of the event. Cambridge's victory took them to an overall lead in the event of 2–1.

References

Notes Bibliography * * * *

External links

Official website
1839 in English sport The Boat Race April 1839 events {{Good article