John Guthrie Tait
Birth name | John Guthrie Tait | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 24 August 1861 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 4 October 1945 | (aged 84)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Edinburgh Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Peterhouse, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Peter Guthrie Tait, father Frederick Guthrie Tait, brother | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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John Guthrie Tait (24 August 1861 – 4 October 1945)
Personal history
Tait was born in Edinburgh in 1861, the eldest son of Scottish mathematical physicist Peter Guthrie Tait and Margaret Archer Porter.[2]
He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy from 1871 to 1877 before studying Law at Peterhouse, Cambridge, from 1880.[3] He received his BA in 1884, and on 7 November the same year was admitted at Lincoln's Inn.[3] Tait was called to The Bar on 25 April 1888 and was awarded his MA in 1890.
In 1890 he travelled to
He was commissioned a Captain in the Bangalore Rifle Volunteers on 31 October 1893.[4] He resigned his commission as a Lieutenant-Colonel 12 July 1917.[5] He was awarded the Volunteer Decoration for his long service.
In 1937 he was elected a Fellow of the
In his later life, Tait became a keen student of the works of
He died in Edinburgh in 1945.
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
Tait first came to note as a rugby union player when he represented Edinburgh Academicals.
In 1880, now a freshman at Peterhouse, Tait was selected for the Cambridge University team. At the end of the year Tait was part of the Cambridge team to face Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match, now played at Blackheath. This was Tait's first sporting 'Blue', and the game ended in a respectful draw. Tait missed the 1881 game, but was back in the team for the 1882, led by fellow Peterhouse student Herbert Fuller. The game was won by Oxford, thanks to a clever try scored by Alan Rotherham.
Provincial career
He played for Edinburgh District in their inter-city match against Glasgow District on 20 December 1879.
He then played for East of Scotland District in their match against West of Scotland District on 31 January 1880.
International career
In 1880 he was selected for the Scotland national team, in a Home Nations friendly against Ireland. Scotland were easy victors, winning by three goals to nil; but despite the victory Tait was not part of the Scotland team that faced England for the Calcutta Cup just two weeks later.
Tait played one final notable game, when in 1885 he was called back into the Scotland side, to once again face Ireland, this time as part of the 1885 Home Nations Championship. The game ended in another Scottish victory, but Tait would not represent his country in rugby again.
Golfing career
The earliest thing I remember about Freddie's golf is the difficulty I had in persuading him to hold a golf club right hand undermost. Some few years ago he told Mrs. Everard that he was deeply indebted to me for licking him till he held his hands the right way.[8]
– Tait writing from India, recalling time training his brother at golf
Tait was a keen golfer, and in his younger days he taught his younger brother, Frederick Guthrie Tait, the basic techniques of the sport. Before leaving for India, Tait entered several amateur golfing tournaments, and in 1887 reached the semi-final stage of the Amateur Championship at Hoylake;[9] being eventually knocked out by John Ball.[10] Although the tutor of his brothers, Frederick would surpass Tait in style and ability, and Frederick's style "...was neater, more finished, more polished, than Jack's (John)."[9]
Results in major championships
Note: Tait played in only The Amateur Championship.
Tournament | 1886 | 1887 | 1888 | 1889 |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Amateur Championship | R32[11] | SF[12] | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1890 | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 | 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1899 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Amateur Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1900 | 1901 |
---|---|---|
The Amateur Championship | DNP | R16[13] |
DNP = Did not play
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Yellow background for top-10
Family
On 7 January 1904 he married Annie Smith Cook, daughter of the Principal of the Central College,
His younger brother was Lt Frederick Guthrie Tait.
Bibliography
- Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883-1983. London: Willows Books. ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
- Low, John L. (1900). F. G. Tait, A Record; Being his Life, Letters, and golfing diary. London: J. Nisbet & Co.
- Marshall, Howard; Jordon, J.P. (1951). Oxford v Cambridge, The Story of the University Rugby Match. London: Clerke & Cockeran.
References
- ^ John Tait player profile Scrum.com
- ^ Provisional Bibliography of Peter Guthrie Tait The University of Edinburgh, School of Mathematics
- ^ a b c d e "Tait, John Guthrie (TT880JG)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ January 1908 Indian Army List
- ^ London Gazette 8 February 1919
- ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- ^ The Review of English Studies, 1948. Pg 261 oxfordjournals.org
- ^ Low (1900), pg 168.
- ^ a b Low (1900), pg 170.
- ^ Hutchinson, Horace G. (1919). Fifty Years of Golf. Offices of Country life. p. 103.
- ^ "Golf Amateur Championship: Tournament at St Andrews". The Herald. Glasgow. 22 September 1886. p. 8. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ "Golf Amateur Championship: Result of Final Round". The Herald. Glasgow. 5 August 1887. p. 9. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ "Golf The Amateur Championship: The Second Day's Play". The Herald. Glasgow. 9 May 1901. p. 10. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
- ISBN 090219884X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2015.)
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