The Boat Race 1841

5th Boat Race
The Boat Race of 1841
Date	14 April 1841 (1841-04-14)
Winner	Cambridge
Margin of victory	22 lengths
Winning time	32 minutes 30 seconds
Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford)	4–1
Umpire	R. G. Walls (Oxford) T. S. Egan (Cambridge) Mr Antrobus (referee)
← 1840 1842 →

The 5th Boat Race took place on the River Thames on 14 April 1841. It was the fourth of the University Boat Races, a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, to be contested in London. The race was held between Westminster Bridge and Putney Bridge and was won by Cambridge, whose crew featured two pairs of brothers rowing, who defeated Oxford by a distance of 22 lengths in a time of 32 minutes and 30 seconds. The victory took the overall record in the event to 4–1 in Cambridge's favour.

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and takes place on the River Thames in southwest London. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the previous year's race by three-quarters of a length.

There was some disagreement over the day selected for the race, mainly in an attempt to coincide with a suitable tide. The Cambridge cox for the 1839 race, Thomas Selby Egan, along with Oxford's R. G. Walls were umpires for the race along with referee Edmund Antrobus from St John's College, Cambridge. Both universities rowed in boats constructed by Searle of Stangate; the vessels were "justly and generally admired", the only significant difference between them being that Oxford's boat was carvel built while Cambridge's was clinker built. The race took place on a five-and-three-quarter-mile (9.2 km) stretch of the Thames between Westminster Bridge and Putney Bridge. No arrangements had been made for the police to keep the course clear: according to Cambridge's number seven George Denman "it was often ticklish work for the coxswains to decide whether to go ahead or astern of a train of barges catering across the river". According to a report in The Morning Chronicle, "both crews ... have agreed that the match will be off if any of the steamers attempt to lead".