Robert Richards

Robert or Bob Richards may refer to:

Politicians

Sportsmen

Others

Robert Richards (Australian politician)

Robert Stanley “Bob” Richards (31 May 1885 – 24 April 1967), generally referred to as "R. S. Richards" was the 32nd Premier of South Australia, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party.

Early life

Born in Moonta, South Australia, the youngest of twelve children to Cornish miner Richard Richards and his wife Mary, Richards was locally educated before leaving school at age 13 to work in the Moonta mines, initially in menial jobs and later as a carpenter. In his early twenties Richards moved to Burnie, Tasmania to manage a copper mine before returning to Moonta, where he married Ada Dixon on 31 January 1914.

Politics

Richards became involved with the labour movement and was elected vice-president of the Federated Mining Employees Association in 1916. When that union merged into the Australian Workers' Union in 1917, he became president of the AWU's mining section, proving himself to be a forceful and competent leader. A lay Methodist preacher, Freemason and keen cricketer and Australian rules footballer, Richards was a popular and well known local identity and it came as no surprise when he sought Labor preselection.

Bob Richards (Canadian rower)

Robert Whitla "Bob" Richards (July 9, 1909 – May 19, 1989) was a Canadian rower who competed in the 1930 British Empire Games, where he won a gold medal alongside his cousin Elswood Bole. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Richards won the Canadian national championships in the double sculls six times between 1928 and 1950, but missed qualifying for the Summer Olympics in 1932. He also had a term as president of his Winnipeg Rowing Club. By career he was a stockbroker and he served in the Canadian Army during World War II. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1988.

Early life

Richards was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 9, 1909. In addition to rowing, he was athletically involved in cross-country skiing, golfing, ice hockey, sailing, and squash. In 1926 he began a career as a stockbroker and, during World War II, he served in the Canadian Army, eventually reaching the rank of Captain.

Rowing career

Richards took up rowing in the 1920s with the Winnipeg Rowing Club and won his first Canadian national championship in the double sculls in 1928, alongside his cousin Elswood Bole. They defended their crown the following year and were selected to represent Canada at the 1930 British Empire Games, where they captured a gold medal. They also won the Northwestern International Rowing Association's doubles titles that year in Kenora, Ontario. Richards had his first international success as a single sculler in 1931, when he won the Northwestern title in that category in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He then attempted to qualify for the double sculls event at the 1932 Summer Olympics with Theo Dubois, but they were defeated in the trials by Noël de Mille and Ned Pratt of the Vancouver Rowing Club. In 1933 Richards and Bole won the doubles at the Northwestern regatta in Saint Paul, Minnesota Prior to his career being interrupted by World War II, Richards won the national doubles title again in 1935.