The 53rd Boat Race took place on 28 March 1896.

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

is an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

along 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 ...

. In a race umpired by former rower

Frank Willan Group Captain Frank Andrew Willan, (21 December 1915 – 12 November 1981) was an English aviator, Royal Air Force officer and Conservative politician. He was Chairman of Wiltshire County Council from 1973 to 1979. Early life The son of Briga ...

, Oxford won by two-fifths of a length in a time of 20 minutes 1 second, taking the overall record in the event to 30–22 in their favour. It was their seventh consecutive victory and the narrowest winning margin since 1877.

Background

is a side-by-side rowing competition between the boat clubs of

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 since 1845 has taken place on the

Championship Course The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for rowing races, particularly the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course is on the tidal reaches of th ...

on the

in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities, as of 2014 it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having beaten Cambridge by lengths in the previous year's race, and held the overall lead, with 29 victories to Cambridge's 22 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Oxford's coaches were G. C. Bourne who had rowed for Oxford in the

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and 1883 races,

R. C. Lehmann Rudolph Chambers "R.C." Lehmann (3 January 1856 – 22 January 1929) was an English writer and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1906 to 1910. As a writer he was best known for three decades in which he was a major c ...

, the former president of the

Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...

and captain of the 1st Trinity Boat Club (although he had rowed in the trials eights for Cambridge, he was never selected for the

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

boat) and Douglas McLean (an Oxford Blue five times between 1883 and 1887). Cambridge were coached by

Stanley Muttlebury Stanley Duff Muttlebury (29 April 1866 – 3 May 1933) was an English rower notable in the annals of rowing and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Parentage Muttlebury was born 29 April 1866 in London, England, the only child of Captain Jame ...

who had rowed for Cambridge five times between the 1886 and 1890 races. The umpire for the race for the eighth year in a row was

who won the event four consecutive times, rowing for Oxford in the

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman tr ...

, 1867,

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

and 1869 races.Burnell, pp. 49, 59

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 6.5 lb (79.0 kg), per rower more than their opponents.Burnell, p. 66 Five of the Cambridge crew had rowed in the previous year's race: boat club president Theodore Byram Hope, Herbert Aylward Game, Richard Yerburgh Bonsey, Thomas Jones Gibb Duncanson and Adam Searle Bell. The Oxford crew contained three former

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, including Walter Erskine Crum who was making his third consecutive appearance in the event. Six of the Oxford crew and two

Cantabrigian __NOTOC__ ''Cantabrigian'' (often shortened to ''Cantab'') is an adjective that is used in two meanings: 1) to refer to what is of or pertaining to Cambridge University, located in Cambridge, United Kingdom;http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona ...

s were educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Harcourt Gilbey Gold, Vanity Fair, 1899-03-23

Race

Cambridge, the pre-race favourites, won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Oxford. Starting at 1:03 p.m., the race was conducted in strong westerly winds and rain showers. Cambridge started the faster of the crews and outrated Oxford by two strokes per minute, and by Craven Steps (approximately ) along the course) they held a one-third length lead. With the bend in the river in their favour, Oxford drew level by the Mile Post, but by

Harrods Furniture Depository The Harrods Furniture Depository buildings flank the south bank of the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, London, built on the site of an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for the larger items that could not be taken into ...

Cambridge were ahead, holding a three-quarter length advantage by

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

. Into the rough water past the bridge, Oxford struggled and the Light Blues were clear at The Doves pub. By Chiswick Steps they had extended the lead to one and a half lengths. Despite being behind for most of the race, the Oxford

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 ...

Harcourt Gilbey Gold maintained his crew's pace and rhythm and along Corney Reach (around into the race) they were overlapping the Light Blue boat. Encountering a challenging combination of wind and tide, Cambridge began to struggle by the brewery at

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...

, and the Dark Blues took advantage,Drinkwater, p. 103 overtaking Cambridge and passed the finishing post two-fifths of a length ahead in a time of 20 minutes 1 second. It was their seventh consecutive victory and the narrowest margin of victory since the 1877 race. Author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater described the race as "one of the most stubbornly contested that has ever been rowed".Drinkwater, p. 102

References

Notes Bibliography * * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1896 1896 in English sport The Boat Race 1896 in sports March 1896 events 1896 sports events in London