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{{short description|Welsh sports administrator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name= John Graham Chambers
|image=
|caption=
|birth_date= 12 February 1843
|birth_place= [[Llanelli]], [[Carmarthenshire]], [[Wales]]
| death_date = 4 March 1883 (aged 40)
| death_place =[[Earls Court]], London, England
|sport=
|event=
|club=
}}
'''John Graham Chambers''' (12 February 1843 – 4 March 1883) was a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] sportsman. He rowed for [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], founded inter-varsity sports, became English Champion walker, coached four winning [[The Boat Race|Boat-Race]] crews, devised the [[Marquess of Queensberry rules|Queensberry Rules]], staged the [[FA Cup Final|Cup Final]] and the [[Regatta|Thames Regatta]], instituted championships for [[English billiards|billiards]], [[boxing]], cycling, wrestling and [[Track and field athletics|athletics]], rowed beside [[Matthew Webb]] as he swam the [[English Channel]]<ref name=":0" /> and edited a national newspaper.

==Early life==
[[File:Plas Llanelly 01.JPG|thumb|Llanelly House, Chambers's birthplace]]

Chambers was born in [[Llanelly House]] in the town of [[Llanelli]], [[Carmarthenshire]], [[Wales]].<ref name=":0">{{cite ODNB|id=5075|title=Chambers, John Graham|first=M. A.|last=Bryant}}</ref> He was the son of William Chambers, a Welsh landowner of the [[Chambers family]]. He was educated at [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], where he graduated as [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]], won the Colquhoun Sculls and became President of the University Boat Club.<ref name=venn>{{acad|id=CHMS861JG|name=Chambers, John Graham}}</ref>

== Career ==
Chambers codified the "[[Marquess of Queensberry rules]]" upon which modern-day boxing is based. In 1867, he established the rules, which include the required use of [[boxing glove]]s, the ten-count, and three-minute rounds. He is a member of the [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=John Graham Chambers |url=http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/nonparticipant/chambersjohngraham.html |website=International Boxing Hall of Fame |access-date=16 August 2025}}</ref>

He was also a catalyst in the founding of British amateur [[UK Athletics|athletics]], having founded the [[Amateur Athletic Club]] in 1866, and was present at the formation of the [[Amateur Athletic Association]] in 1880.<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=92495|title=Amateur Athletic Association (act. 1880–1991)|last=Holt|first=Richard}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welshathletics.org/about-us/our-history.aspx |title=Welsh Athletics: Our History |publisher=welshathletics.org |author=Williams, Clive |date= |accessdate=5 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829023222/http://www.welshathletics.org/about-us/our-history.aspx |archive-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1866, he won the [[List of British champions in 10,000 metres walk|7 miles walk]] event at the inaugural [[1866 AAC Championships]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000355/18660324/082/0008 |title=Amateur Athletic Club |work=Bell's Life in London and Sporting Chronicle |date=24 March 1866 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=19 July 2024}}</ref>

Chambers also rowed twice in the Boat Race for Cambridge in 1862 and 1863, losing both times, and coached six Light Blues crews in 1865–66, again defeats, and 1871–74 when Cambridge put together four straight victories, including the first on sliding seats in 1873.

== Later life ==
Chambers died, aged 40, at 10 Wetherby Terrace, [[Earls Court]], London on 4 March 1883<ref name=venn /> and is buried in [[Brompton Cemetery]].

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, John Graham}}
[[Category:Creators of sports]]
[[Category:Founders of sporting institutions]]
[[Category:1883 deaths]]
[[Category:1843 births]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:Burials at Brompton Cemetery]]
[[Category:Welsh male rowers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Llanelli]]
[[Category:International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:19th-century Welsh sportsmen]]
[[Category:Welsh male boxers]]

John Graham Chambers - Revision history

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