Stuart H. Walker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stuart Hodge Walker
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Walker in 2012
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| Born | April 19, 1923 |
| Died | November 12, 2018 (aged 95) Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
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| Education | Middlebury College |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupation | Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatrics |
| Years active | Retirement Profession 1984, International Sailing 2016 |
| Employer | Mercy Medical Center (Baltimore, Maryland) |
| Known for | Olympic yachtsman, writer and a professor of pediatrics from the United States. He has competed as a sailor at the Olympic Games; won many national and international championships in different classes. |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Title | President International Soling Association |
| Term | 1991 - 1994 |
| Predecessor | Sam Merrick |
| Successor | George Wossala |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Taylor (1944 - 2012) Patricia Empey (2013 until his death) |
| Children | Susan (1946) and Lee (1950) |
| Awards | Sailing World Hall of Fame Class of 1982 United States National Sailing Hall of Fame in Class of 2013 |
Stuart Hodge Walker (born April 19, 1923 – died November 12, 2018) was an amazing American sailor, writer, and doctor. He was known for his skills in sailing, competing in the Olympic Games. He won many big championships around the world. Besides sailing, he was also a professor who taught about children's health.
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About Stuart Walker
Stuart Walker was born in 1923 in Brooklyn, New York. He went to school in Hartsdale and Bronxville. Later, he studied at Middlebury College and then went to medical school at New York University.
He married Frances Taylor in 1944. They had two daughters, Susan and Lee. After Frances passed away in 2012, Stuart married Patricia Empey in 2013.
In 1946, Stuart worked as a medical officer in the U.S. Army. He was part of the 11th Airborne Division in Japan. After leaving the army, he became a children's doctor in Annapolis in 1953. In 1961, he became a full-time professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He was also the head of pediatrics at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore until he retired in 1984.
Stuart's Sailing Career
Stuart was a very talented sailor. He sailed in a type of boat called the International 14. He was part of every American team in international races from 1961 to 1971. In 1963, he was the first American to win the Princess Elizabeth Trophy in Bermuda. The next year, in 1964, he won England's Prince of Wales Cup. He was also the first American to win that one!
He joined the American Olympic Team and sailed a 5.5 Meter boat at the 1968 Olympic Games. He also competed in the Pan-American Games. Later, he sailed a Soling boat in the 1979 Pan-American Games and the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games.
Stuart as a Writer
Stuart Walker wrote many books about sailboat racing. He wrote about how to trim sails, how to compete well, and how wind moves close to the water. He also gave talks and wrote for sailing magazines. He helped start the Severn Sailing Association. In 2015, he published his 11th book, "Travels with Thermopylae." This book was about a year he spent sailing and exploring in central Europe.
Leading the Soling Class
From 1991 to 1994, Stuart was the President of the International Soling Class. This is a group for people who sail Soling boats. He worked hard to make sure the Soling boat stayed in the 1996 Olympics. He also created a special committee to help solve problems with the boats. Stuart traveled to Europe every year to compete in Soling races.
Retirement from Sailing
Stuart Walker announced his retirement from competitive sailing on May 23, 2016. He was 93 years old. He had finished fifth in a big race in Austria. He decided to retire because of a problem with his eyesight called macular degeneration. This meant he couldn't see as well as he used to.
He had been sailing Soling boats for 47 years! Even after retiring from big races, Stuart still enjoyed sailing in local races at the Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis. He passed away on November 12, 2018, in Annapolis, at the age of 95.
Major Achievements
Stuart Walker had many impressive achievements in his life:
- He was chosen as one of the world's twenty best sailors in 1982. This put him in the Sailing World Hall of Fame.
- In 2013, he was added to the United States National Sailing Hall of Fame.
- He was part of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1968, sailing a 5.5 Meter boat.
- He won a Gold medal at the 1979 U.S. Pan-American Team competition, sailing a Soling.
- He won the Princess Elizabeth Trophy in 1961, being the first American to do so.
- He won the Prince of Wales Cup in 1964, also the first American to win this.
- He was a member of the U.S. International Teams many times between 1961 and 1971.
- He won many championships in different countries like Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, and Scotland.
- He won the Buzzard's Bay Bowl in 1962.
- He won Yachting Magazine's One-of-a-Kind Regatta in 1966.
- He won the Great Lakes Championship in 1973.
- He won the Maritime Provinces Championship in 1973.
- He won the Atlantic Coast Championship in 1974.
- He won the Australian Gold Cup in 1982.
- He won the Erich Hirt Trophy in 1984 and 1992.
- He won the Jungfrau Trophy in 1984 and 1985.
- He won the European Lakes Cup in 1988.
- He won the Soling Chesapeake Bay Championship 32 times between 1955 and 2011.
