John Graham Chambers

British sportsman and journalist
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Quick Facts
Born:
Feb. 12, 1843, Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Died:
March 4, 1883, London

John Graham Chambers (born Feb. 12, 1843, Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales—died March 4, 1883, London) was a British sportsman and journalist who in 1867 devised the Marquess of Queensberry rules, which helped to define the rules in boxing.

(Read Gene Tunney’s 1929 Britannica essay on boxing.)

After a distinguished college career rowing for Cambridge, Chambers coached the Cambridge team from 1871 to 1874. In 1866 he founded the Amateur Athletic Club and was instrumental in organizing the Amateur Athletic Association in 1880. He edited the weekly journal Land and Water from 1871 until his death.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.