Charles Campbell

Charles Campbell (1805 – July 1851) of Westminster was the first recognised professional world champion single sculler. At the time, (1831) he became the Champion of the Thames which was effectively the Champion of England although the Tyne scullers might have disagreed. See Also English Sculling Championship. After the English title gained the world status in 1876, earlier winners were retrospectively given the World Champion Title. Campbell was born in 1805 at Lambeth. During his racing career he was stated to be , and weighed . His races included pair and four oar events as well as single sculls. Title races The first single sculls world title match took place on 9 September 1831 between Campbell and John Williams of Waterloo Bridge on the Thames course between Westminster and Hammersmith. Campbell was the winner although no time for the race was recorded. Campbell was reported to weigh 11.5 stone. The next time he raced for the title was when he was challenged by Robert Coombes. The stake was £50 a side and the match was run on 1 November 1838. The course was again on the Thames between Westminster to Putney – a distance of approximately 4.5 miles. Campbell was an easy winner and the time recorded was a slow 42 minutes, but the boats used were slow, old-fashioned wherries. Future races were to feature faster wager boats.