David Burghley
David George Brownlow Cecil Burghley, 6th Marquess of Exeter (February 9, 1905 – October 22, 1981) was a British athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Born in Stamford as a heir to the Marquess of Exeter, David Burghley won the British AAA championships in 120 yd from 1929 to 1931 and 440 yd hurdles from 1926 to 1928, 1930 and 1932.
Burghley made his Olympics debut in Paris in 1924, when he was eliminated in the first round of the 110 m hurdles. At the 1928 Summer Olympics, Burghley was eliminated in the semifinal of the 110 m hurdles, 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 4x400 m 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 400 m hurdles and won a silver medal as a member of British 4x400 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 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. A completely distorted version of this event was presented in the film Chariots of Fire, in which the feat is credited to Harold Abrahams. In this film, Burghley inspired the character of "Lord Andrew Lindsay". He 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 British 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.
