June 10: On This Day in World History … briefly
Boat race became such a popular phrase that it was incorporated into Cockney rhyming slang, for 'face'.
1829: Oxford and Cambridge begin their racing rivalry
The rivalry between England’s two most prestigious universities Oxford and Cambridge, took to the water for the first time on June 10, 1829.
Two eight-men crews raced each other along the River Thames at Henley in south-east England in a contest of rowing power nicknamed simply ‘The Boat Race’.
The annual rowing race between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, rowed between men’s and women’s open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England is also known as the University Boat Race and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.
The men’s race was first held in 1829 and has been held annually since 1856, except during the First and Second World Wars. The first women’s event was in 1927 and the race has been held annually since 1964.
Since 2015, the women’s race has taken place on the same day and course, and since 2018 the combined event of the two races has been referred to as ‘The Boat Race’. In the 2019 race, which took place on Sunday, April 7, 2019, Cambridge won the men’s and women’s races as well as both reserve races.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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