The idea for a rowing race between the universities came from two friends - Charles Merivale, a student at Cambridge, and his Harrow schoolfriend Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the poet William Wordsworth), who was at Oxford.

On 12 March 1829, Cambridge sent a challenge to Oxford and thus the tradition was born which has continued to the present day, where the loser of the previous year's race challenges the opposition to a re-match.

The first Boat Race took place at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire and contemporary newspapers report crowds of twenty thousand travelled to watch. The race was stopped soon after the start and, following the restart, Oxford were clear winners. The event was such a resounding success that the townspeople later decided to organise a regatta of their own which duly became Henley Royal Regatta. After the first year, the early Boat Races took place at Westminster in London, but by 1845, when Westminster had become too crowded, the Boat Race moved six miles up-stream to the then country village of Putney. In 1856 the race became an annual event (excepting only the war years).

A summary chronology:

1829: First Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race held on 10 June at Henley-on-Thames

1836: Second race from Westminster to Putney

1845: First Boat Race held on The Thames between Putney and Mortlake

1849: Oxford won on a foul

1859: Cambridge sank

1873: First year the crews raced on sliding seats

1877: The race resulted in a dead heat

1898: The Cambridge crew was waterlogged but finished

1900: Cambridge win by 20 lengths

1912: The Race was scheduled for 31 March but both boats sank and it had to be re-run on 1 April

1915-19: No Boat Races during the First World War

1925: Oxford sank

1927: First year the BBC broadcast a running commentary on The Boat Race

1938: BBC Television covered The Boat Race for the first time

1932: The course was cut short by one minute due to construction work on Putney Bridge

1940-45: On 24 March, Oxford sank and the race was rescheduled for 26 March, when Cambridge won

1952: Oxford won by a canvas in a blizzard

1954: The 100th Boat Race. Oxford won

1976: First sponsorship of The Boat Race, by Ladbrokes. Oxford broke the 17 minute barrier

1978: The Cambridge Blue Boat sank

1981: Sue Brown was the first female to participate in the race. She steered Oxford to victory

1982: Hugh and Rob Clay were the first twins ever to row in The Boat Race

1984: Cambridge wrote off their boat minutes before the start of the race

1986: Carole Burton became the first Cambridge female cox

1987: The year of the famous Oxford mutiny caused by a number of top class American oarsmen who refused to row when a fellow American was dropped in preference for the English President, Donald Macdonald. Oxford, with Macdonald, won. Beefeater Gin became the official sponsor of The Boat Race

1988: Dennis Thatcher presented the trophy to the winning Oxford crew