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The Great International Boat Race was a bespoke rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Harvard University Boat Club. The side-by-side rowing race took place on 27 August 1869 between coxed fours on The Championship Course&mdash;also used for The Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Club. The Oxford crew won. William Blackie described it a few years later as "the most important rowing race the world ever saw".

Origin
Harvard had originally planned to challenge both the Oxford and Cambridge eights crews at an international regatta in 1867 which was part of the world fair (Exposition Universelle) in Paris; however, they did not think they would be competitive enough and only seven members of the crew were willing to travel so the plan was abandoned. Harvard then sent a challenge to race in England, Coxswain (rowing)

Both the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Clubs were challenged to a coxed fours race – a sweep-oar rowing race with coxswain – from Putney to Mortlake, the same course used for The Boat Race.

Crews
The Oxford crew for the race of Darbishire, Tinné, Willan and Yarborough had all rowed together during school at Eton College and, more recently, in an eight for Oxford. They had been part of the victorius Oxford crews which won The Boat Race in both 1868 and 1869 against Cambridge. In the four, Darbishire rowed in the stroke position as he had done for both Boat Races; Yarborough and Tinné also retained their respective port and startboard side. Willan rowed in the bow position&mdash;although he had raced the previous two Boat Races on the opposite side, he stroked the bow side in the 1967 Boat Race. Initially, W. D. Benson (who had also been in the eight for the past two years) instead of Willan was to be trialled in the four and they were to prepare for the race by competing at Henley but this did not come to fruition. In July 1869, Darbishire, Tinné, Willan, Yarborough, W.C. Crofts, S. H. Woodhouse, W. A. Burgess went to train for the race in Eton – Benson was unable to attend. The four-man crew was selected on 12 July with Woodhouse as reserve.

The Harvard crew consisted of Loring at stroke who had rowed this position in a six for "the two fastest amateur crews the United States had ever produced" Harvard Boat Club captain William H. Simmons was also a strong rower and both were regarded as two of Harvard's best in recent years. There was some controversy over the remaining two seats in the boat; George Bass and Sylvester Rice were regarded as good rowers but, being born in Illinois and Oregon respectively, were not considered by all to be "representitive" of Harvard because they were not of New England origin. Nevertheless, the Harvard Boat Club voted and supported these two in the remaining seats. This crew began training for the event in late April. The Harvard crew sailed from New York on 10 July and arrived in Liverpool ten days later. Meanwhile, later that month in the United States, a weakened Harvard crew contested the annual race against Yale. Despite being underdogs, F. O. Lyman and J. Fay, who had been reserves for the race against Oxford, led them to victory. Soon after, they sailed for England and usurped Bass and Rice in the crew two weeks before the race. Another consequence of this, was that the crew was now representitive of New England.

Boats
The Oxford boat was 44 ft long and 21 in wide and made by local boatmakers J. & S. Salter who had also made eights for both Cambridge and Oxford to be used in previous Boat Races. Harvard's William Blakie said they were "supposed by us to be the best". The London Rowing Club agreed that their eights were good but thought their fours may be "too strong and heavy".

Harvard had brought American boatmaker Charles Elliot

Robert Jewitt and Harry Clasper both boat-makers from Dunston, Tyne and Wear

boat was 44 ft long and 21.5 in wide and

Public interest
The boat race was watched by a much larger audience than the annual Boat Race and one million spectators were estimated to be watching along the river.

The Race
The Harvard crew won the toss and elected to race on the "Middlesex side" from the north station as it possed the better line for the first half mile.