The Boat Race 1859
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| 16th Boat Race | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 15 April 1859 | ||
| Winner | Oxford | ||
| Margin of victory | Cambridge sank | ||
| Winning time | 24 minutes 4 seconds | ||
| Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) | 9–7 | ||
| Umpire | Joseph William Chitty (Oxford) | ||
| |||
The 16th Boat Race took place on 15 April 1859. Held annually, the event is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The race went ahead following Cambridge's request for a postponement due to extremely rough conditions being rejected. Oxford won the race after Cambridge sank. It was the first time in the history of the event that one of the crews did not finish the race.
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")[1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").[1] The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.[2][3] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having defeated Oxford by 7+1⁄2 lengths in the previous year's race. They led overall with nine wins to Oxford's six.[4]
For the 1859 race, Oxford instigated a new method of crew selection: trial eights. Prior to this, the selection of crew was made on the recommendations of the college boat club captains. Oxford boat club president John Arkell remarked "it will not do to trust too much the judgment of the College captains."[5] Following a race between the two trial eights, the final crew was selected eight weeks prior to the race. Cambridge would not introduce this selection method until the 1868 race.[6] Oxford began training on 14 March with an outing almost every day between then and 13 April. Cambridge, on the other hand, arrived in London six days before the race and made just three outings on the Thames.[7] The race was umpired by Joseph William Chitty who had rowed for Oxford twice in 1849 (in the March and December races) and the 1852 race.[8][9]
Crews
Oxford saw the return of three former Blues in Lane, Risley and Arkell, all of whom rowed in the 1858 race. Cambridge welcomed back five former rowers, including Archibald Levin Smith who had rowed in both the 1857 and 1858 races. Oxford's crew weighed an average of 11 st 8.75 lb (73.6 kg), approximately 3.25 pounds (1.47 kg) per man more than their opponents.[10]
| Seat | Cambridge  |
Oxford  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | College | Weight | Name | College | Weight | |||
| Bow | N. Royds | 1st Trinity | 10 st 6 lb | H. F. Baxter | Brasenose | 10 st 12 lb | ||
| 2 | H. J. Chaytor | Jesus | 10 st 13 lb | R. F. Clarke | St John's | 11 st 13 lb | ||
| 3 | A. L. Smith | 1st Trinity | 11 st 11 lb | C. G. Lane | Christ Church | 11 st 9 lb | ||
| 4 | D. Darroch | 1st Trinity | 12 st 4 lb | V. Lawless | Balliol | 12 st 3 lb | ||
| 5 | H. Williams | Lady Margaret Boat Club | 12 st 6 lb | G. Morrison | Balliol | 13 st 1 lb | ||
| 6 | R. L. Lloyd (P) | Magdalene | 11 st 9 lb | R. W. Risley | Exeter | 11 st 2 lb | ||
| 7 | G. A. Paley | Lady Margaret Boat Club | 11 st 7 lb | G. Thomas | Balliol | 11 st 4 lb | ||
| Stroke | J. Hall | Magdalene | 10 st 2 lb | J. Arkell (P) | Pembroke | 10 st 12 lb | ||
| Cox | J. T. Morland | 1st Trinity | 9 st 0 lb | A. J. Robarts | Christ Church | 9 st 1 lb | ||
| Sources:[10][11] (P) – boat club president | ||||||||
