Everything about David Cecil 6th Marquess Of Exeter totally explained
David George Brownlow Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter KCMG (
February 9,
1905 –
October 22,
1981), styled
Lord Burghley before
1956 and also known as
David Burghley, was an
English Conservative politician, sports official and
athlete. He was the winner of 400
m hurdles at the
1928 Summer Olympics.
Early life
Born near
Stamford, Lincolnshire as heir to the
5th Marquess of Exeter, Lord Burghley was educated at
Eton College,
Institut Le Rosey, and
Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Athlete
A notable runner at school and at Cambridge, he continued with his athletics and won the British
AAA championships in 120
yd 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 110m hurdles. At the
1928 Summer Olympics, Burghley was eliminated in the semi final of the 110m hurdles, but won the 400m 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 400m
relay team.
Burghley was elected to
Parliament in 1931, but was granted a leave of absence to compete in the
1932 Summer Olympics, where he placed fifth in the 400m hurdles and won a silver medal as a member of British 4x400m 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,
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 didn't allow his name to be used in the film because of the inaccurate historical depiction in the movie. Lord Burghley accomplished this feat and it was something he was quite proud of. 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 Organizing Committee of the
1948 Summer Olympics.
Family
Lord Burghley married firstly in
1929, Lady Therese Montagu-Douglas-Scott (
4 March 1904-
1 June 1984), fourth daughter of
John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch and they were divorced in 1946. They had four children:
He married secondly, the war widow Diana Henderson, granddaughter of
Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon and had a daughter,
Lady Victoria Diana Cecil (b. June 28 1947), married to Simon Leatham with issue. She is the present chatelaine of Burghley House.
Trivia
Lord Burghley was in the plane that crashed in Munich in 1958 killing many of the players of the Manchester United football team.
Further Information
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