David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter
Encyclopedia
David George Brownlow Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter KCMG
(9 February 1905 – 22 October 1981), styled Lord Burghley before 1956 and also known as David Burghley, was an English athlete, sports official and Conservative Party
politician. He won the gold medal
in the 400 m hurdles at the 1928 Summer Olympics
.
as heir to the 5th Marquess of Exeter
, Lord Burghley was educated at Eton College
, Institut Le Rosey
, and Magdalene College, Cambridge
.
from 1929 to 1931 and the 440 yd (402m) hurdles from 1926 to 1928, and again in 1930 and 1932.
Burghley made his Olympics debut in Paris in 1924
, when he was eliminated in the first round of the 110 metre hurdles event
. At the 1928 Summer Olympics
, Burghley was eliminated in the semi final of the 110 metre hurdles competition, but won the 400 m hurdles, beating second and third placed Americans
Frank Cuhel
and Morgan Taylor
by 0.2 seconds. At the first Commonwealth Games
in 1930, Burghley won both hurdling events and also was a member of gold medal winning British 4 x 440 yards relay
team.
In 1931 Burghley was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough
. He was granted a leave of absence to compete in the 1932 Summer Olympics
, where he placed fourth in the 400 m hurdles event, fifth in the 110 m hurdles competition, and won a silver medal as a member of British 4×400 m relay team.
As an athlete, Burghley was a very keen practitioner who placed matchboxes on hurdles and practised knocking over the matchboxes with his lead foot without touching the hurdle. In 1927, his final year at Magdalene College, Cambridge
, he amazed colleagues by sprinting around the Great Court
at Trinity College
in the time it took the college clock to toll 12 o'clock, inspiring the scene in the film Chariots of Fire
(whose character Lord Andrew Lindsay is based upon Burghley) in which Harold Abrahams
accomplishes the same feat. Lord Burghley did not allow his name to be used in the film because of the inaccurate historical depiction in the movie. There was never a race upon which Harold Abrahams beat Lord Burghley in this feat as the movie depicts. Burghley is also said to have set another unusual record by racing around the upper promenade deck of the Queen Mary
in 57 seconds, dressed in everyday clothes.
Burghley later served as president of the Amateur Athletic Association for 40 years, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation for 30 years and as a member of the International Olympic Committee
for 48 years. He was also chairman of the Organising Committee of the 1948 Summer Olympics
.
In 1951, while in Eastbourne
, his doctor was John Bodkin Adams
the suspected serial killer.
and served as MP for Peterborough
from 1931 until 1943. He was first elected in the 1931 General Election
, when he ousted the sitting Labour
MP J. F. Horrabin. Burghley was returned to the House of Commons again in the 1935 General Election
. Burghley resigned his Commons seat in 1943 when he was appointed Governor of Bermuda
, a post in which he served until 1945.
He married secondly, the war widow Diana Henderson, granddaughter of Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon
and had a daughter,
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(9 February 1905 – 22 October 1981), styled Lord Burghley before 1956 and also known as David Burghley, was an English athlete, sports official and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. He won the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in the 400 m hurdles at the 1928 Summer Olympics
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
.
Early life
Born near Stamford, LincolnshireStamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
as heir to the 5th Marquess of Exeter
William Cecil, 5th Marquess of Exeter
William Thomas Brownlow Cecil, 5th Marquess of Exeter KG CMG TD , known as Lord Burghley from 1895 to 1898, was a British peer....
, Lord Burghley was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey, commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a school, in Gstaad, Switzerland. It is described as one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the world. The school was founded by Paul-Émile Carnal in 1880 on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey near the town...
, and Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
.
Athlete
A notable runner at school and at Cambridge, he continued with his athletics and won the British AAA championships in 120 ydYard
A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
from 1929 to 1931 and the 440 yd (402m) hurdles from 1926 to 1928, and again in 1930 and 1932.
Burghley made his Olympics debut in Paris in 1924
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
, when he was eliminated in the first round of the 110 metre hurdles event
Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics - Men's 110 metre hurdles
The men's 110 metres hurdles event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Tuesday, July 8, 1924 and on Wednesday, July 9, 1924.Twenty-eight hurdlers from 15 nations competed.-Records:...
. At the 1928 Summer Olympics
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...
, Burghley was eliminated in the semi final of the 110 metre hurdles competition, but won the 400 m hurdles, beating second and third placed Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Frank Cuhel
Frank Cuhel
Frank Cuhel was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles....
and Morgan Taylor
Morgan Taylor
Frederick Morgan Taylor was an American hurdler, winner of three Olympic medals. Morgan Taylor, from Sioux City, Iowa, competed in both track and field and football at Grinnell College...
by 0.2 seconds. At the first Commonwealth Games
1930 British Empire Games
The 1930 British Empire Games were the first of what later become known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, in the province of Ontario in Canada from August 16–23, 1930....
in 1930, Burghley won both hurdling events and also was a member of gold medal winning British 4 x 440 yards relay
Relay race
During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...
team.
In 1931 Burghley was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
. He was granted a leave of absence to compete in the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
, where he placed fourth in the 400 m hurdles event, fifth in the 110 m hurdles competition, and won a silver medal as a member of British 4×400 m relay team.
As an athlete, Burghley was a very keen practitioner who placed matchboxes on hurdles and practised knocking over the matchboxes with his lead foot without touching the hurdle. In 1927, his final year at Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, he amazed colleagues by sprinting around the Great Court
Trinity Great Court
Great Court is the main court of Trinity College, Cambridge, and reputed to be the largest enclosed court in Europe.The court was completed by Thomas Nevile, master of the college, in the early years of the 17th century, when he rearranged the existing buildings to form a single...
at Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in the time it took the college clock to toll 12 o'clock, inspiring the scene in the film Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
(whose character Lord Andrew Lindsay is based upon Burghley) in which Harold Abrahams
Harold Abrahams
Harold Maurice Abrahams, CBE, was a British athlete of Jewish origin. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
accomplishes the same feat. Lord Burghley did not allow his name to be used in the film because of the inaccurate historical depiction in the movie. There was never a race upon which Harold Abrahams beat Lord Burghley in this feat as the movie depicts. Burghley is also said to have set another unusual record by racing around the upper promenade deck of the Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
in 57 seconds, dressed in everyday clothes.
Burghley later served as president of the Amateur Athletic Association for 40 years, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation for 30 years and as a member of the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
for 48 years. He was also chairman of the Organising Committee of the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
.
In 1951, while in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, his doctor was John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
the suspected serial killer.
Politician
Burghley was a member of the Conservative and Unionist PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and served as MP for Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
from 1931 until 1943. He was first elected in the 1931 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
, when he ousted the sitting Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP J. F. Horrabin. Burghley was returned to the House of Commons again in the 1935 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
. Burghley resigned his Commons seat in 1943 when he was appointed Governor of Bermuda
Governor of Bermuda
The Governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
, a post in which he served until 1945.
Family
Lord Burghley married firstly in 1929, Lady Mary Theresa Montagu Douglas Scott (4 March 1904 – 1 June 1984), fourth daughter of Sir John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch & 9th Duke of Queensberry and Lady Margaret Alice "Molly" Bridgeman. They had four children before they divorced in 1946:- Lady Davina Mary Cecil (b. 29 June 1931), married 1952 (divorced) John Vane, 11th Baron Barnard and had issue.
- John William Edward Cecil (1933–1934).
- Lady Gillian Moyra Katherine Cecil (b. 8 March 1935), married 1stly 1954 (divorced 1978) Sir Giles Floyd, 7th BaronetFloyd BaronetsThe Floyd Baronetcy is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 March 1816 for General John Floyd. He was second-in-command at the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799. Floyd's daughter Julia was the wife of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet...
and had issue, two sons. She then married 1979 George Michael Kertesz (d. 16 February 2007), and thirdly April 2008 Jeremy Smith. - Lady Angela Mary Rose Cecil (b. 21 May 1938), married William Richard Michael Oswald (Sir Michael Oswald) and had issue.
He married secondly, the war widow Diana Henderson, granddaughter of Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon
Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon
Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon, CH , known as Sír Alexander Henderson, 1st Baronet, from 1902 to 1916, was a British financier and Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament.- Biography :...
and had a daughter,
- Lady Victoria Diana Cecil (b. 28 June 1947), married to Simon Leatham with issue and a well-known antiques expert and television personality. She was the chatelaineChatelaineChâtelaine has the following meanings:*Châtelaine, a woman who owns or controls a large house ....
of Burghley HouseBurghley HouseBurghley House is a grand 16th-century country house near the town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England...
from 1982 until 2007. She has been succeeded by her daughter Miranda Rock.