Vivian Nickalls (1871–1947) was a British

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 ...

who won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the Sc ...

three times and the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowing clubs.

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

in 1891.

Biography

Nickalls was born at

Farningham Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located south-east of Swanley. It has a population of 1,314. History Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic history – flint and other tools ha ...

, Kent, the son of

Tom Nickalls Tom Nickalls (1828–1899) was a stockjobber on the stock exchange and one of the founding members of London Rowing Club. He was known as the "king of the American railroad market" after making his fortune in American railway shares. Biography N ...

and his wife Emily Quihampton, a notable outdoorswoman. He was baptized on 7 April 1872. His father was a

stockjobber Stockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. The business of stockjobbing emerged in the 1690s during England's Financial Revolution. During the 18th century the jobbers attracted numerous critiques from ...

on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

with a particular expertise in investing in American railroads. Nickalls was one of twelve children, of whom his brother

Guy Nickalls Guy Nickalls (13 November 1866 – 8 July 1935) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics as a member of the British eight that won gold, won 22 events at Henley Royal Regatta and won the Wingfield Sculls three times. Early ...

was also a successful oarsman. Nickalls was educated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

and rowed with hs brother in the 1891

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

. He won the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley in 1891 and the Wingfield Sculls in 1892 and 1894 while at Oxford. He joined

London Rowing Club London Rowing Club (LRC, or colloquially, 'London') is the second-oldest of the non-academic active rowing clubs on the Thames in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1856 by members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete at ...

and with his brother he won the

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless pairs at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing club A rowing club ...

at Henley in 1894, 1895 and 1896. and won the Wingfield Sculls again in 1895. In 1898, Nickalls married Augusta Dunthorne née Bailey (1872–1949) the daughter of Sir

James Bailey James Bailey may refer to: People Academics * James Bailey (classical scholar) (died 1864), English schoolmaster * J. O. Bailey (1903–1979), professor of literature * Jay Bailey (James E. Bailey, 1944–2001), American biochemical engineer and ...

MP (1840–1910) and Catherine née Smith (1872–1949). They had two daughters: Barbara Marie Nickalls (1901–1942) and Nancy Augusta Nickalls (1903–1984). His sister Florence Nickalls (1861–1945) married

William Adolf Baillie Grohman William Adolph Baillie Grohman (April 1 1851–February 11 1921) was an Anglo-Austrian author of works on the Tyrol and the history of hunting, a big game sportsman, and a pioneer in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. Biography Grohman ...

, an Anglo-Austrian author. Nickalls went into his father's stockbroking business. The family had connections and property in the United States, and in 1914 Nickalls went to America to coach at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. On arrival he was quoted as saying that he did not propose to use or teach the English stroke, declaring that he considered the way they row at Oxford and Cambridge and the English rowing system in general as "very bad." After the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he resigned to join the army. He described his wartime experiences in ''Oars, Wars and Horses'' published by Hurst & Blackett in 1932. He lived at The High House, Newbury, Berkshire.the Peerage.com
/ref> He died in 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickalls, Vivian 1871 births English male rowers British male rowers 1947 deaths Vivian People from Farningham

Biography

See also

References