10 June 1829: the first Oxford and Cambridge boat race

The first ever Oxford and Cambridge boat race took place on the Thames on this day in 1829 – not in London, but in Henley on Thames.

Oxford and Cambridge boat race crews
(Image credit: WATFORD/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race has become one of the highlights of the British sporting calendar. Every year, up to 250,000 people line the banks of the Thames to see the two university crews battle it out on the water. In 2015, 6.8 million people watched the race on TV.

It was started by two old friends from Harrow School, Charles Merivale, a Cambridge student, and Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the poet), who was at Oxford.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

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