Stuart H. Walker (born April 19, 1923) is an Olympic yachtsman, writer and a professor of pediatrics from the US. He has competed as a sailor at the Olympic Games; won many national and international championships in different classes; and published ten books.
Born in 1923 in Brooklyn, New York, Walker attended school in suburban Hartsdale and Bronxville, college atMiddlebury College, and medical school at New York University. He was married to Frances (née Taylor) from 1944 until her death on September 30, 2012. They have two daughters Susan (1946) and Lee (1950). He and Frances lived in Western Australia for three periods, two of them of six months each: once in 1981–82, while on sabbatical leave, studying water balance in aboriginal children, and once as a reporter for several U.S. publications during the 1988 America's Cup at Fremantle.
Walker was assigned in 1946 as a medical officer to the Army of Occupation of Japan ( United States Army 11th Airborne Division (Paratroops)). After reassignment from the army, he started an pediatric practice in Annapolis in 1953. Stuart became a full-time Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1961 and was Chief of Pediatrics at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore until his retirement in 1984.
Walker was a member of every American team in international matches between 1961 and 1971 and was, in 1963, the first American to win Bermuda's Princess Elizabeth Trophy and, in 1964, England's Prince of Wales Cup. He was a member of the American Olympic Team, sailing a 5.5 Meter at the 1968 Games and the Pan-American Games, and a Soling in the 1979 Pan-American Games and the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games .
He is the author of ten books on sailboat racing, sail trim, competitive behavior, and low level wind flow, and is a lecturer and contributor to sailing magazines. He was the primary force in the founding of the Severn Sailing Association.
Walker was President of the International Soling Class from 1991 through 1994 . In this role he successfully campaigned to keep the Soling in the 1996 Olympics and to continue the fleet/match format. He also established a strong, well organized Technical Committee that included the major builders and which has been successful in openly recognizing and solving problems before they become significant. He travels on a yearly basis to Europe to compete in Soling regattas, where he regularly wins championships.
Sailing World Hall of Fame[2]Member 1982 – selected as one of the world’s twenty outstanding yachtsmen1968 Olympics8th U.S. Olympic Team – 5.5 MeterTeam MeteorologistVintage Yachting Games5th 2012 Italy – Soling1979 Pan American GamesGold 1979 U.S. Pan-American Team – SolingEuropean Championship Soling2nd 2011 AustriaNational Championships in SolingWinner 1973 SwitzerlandWinner 2003 United StatesWinner 1983 SwitzerlandWinner 1987 SwitzerlandWinner 1988 AustriaWinner 1988 HungaryWinner 2003 NetherlandsWinner 2007 ScotlandInternational 14Member U.S. International Teams 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969 and 1971Winner 1961 Princess Elizabeth Trophy (1st American ever) – BermudaWinner 1962 Buzzard's Bay BowlWinner 1964 Prince of Wales Cup (1st American ever) – Lowestoft, United KingdomWinner 1966 Yachting Magazine's One-of-a-Kind RegattaSolingWinner 1973 Great Lakes ChampionshipWinner 1973 Maritime Provinces ChampionshipWinner 1974 Atlantic Coast ChampionshipWinner 1982 Australian Gold Cup AustraliaWinner 1984 Erich Hirt Trophy GermanyWinner 1984 Jungfrau Trophy SwitzerlandWinner 1985 Jungfrau Trophy SwitzerlandWinner 1988 European Lakes CupWinner 1992 Erich Hirt Trophy GermanyIce Bowl (Annapolis)Winner 1955 – 2011 – (32 times out of 58)
Walker contributed to the sailing world by writing ten books on sports in general and on sailing specifically: