John Guthrie Tait

John Guthrie Tait
Full name John Guthrie Tait
Date of birth (1861-08-24)24 August 1861
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death 4 October 1945(1945-10-04) (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
Playing career
Position Forward
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
?-1880
1880-1885		 Edinburgh Academicals
Cambridge University
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1880-1885 Scotland 2 (0)

John "Jack" Guthrie Tait (24 August 1861 – 4 October 1945)[1] V.D. was a Scottish educator who became principal of the Central College of Bangalore prior to the First World War. In his early adulthood, Tait was a notable sportsman playing rugby union as a forward for Cambridge University and represented the Scotland international team twice between 1880 and 1885. As well as being a talented rugby player, Tait was, like his brother Frederick Guthrie Tait, a notable amateur golfer.

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 before matriculating to Peterhouse, Cambridge, in 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 India and took up a post in the Government Education Department at Mysore, Karnataka. He became Professor of Languages and vice-principal of Central College of Bangalore, and in 1908 he was made Principal of the College.[3] On 7 January 1904 he married Annie Smith Cook, daughter of the Principal of the Central College, John Cook FRSE (d.1915).[4]

He was commissioned a Captain in the Bangalore Rifle Volunteers on 31 October 1893.[5] He resigned his commission as a Lieutenant-Colonel 12 July 1917.[6] He was awarded the Volunteer Decoration for his long service.

In his later life, Tait became a keen student of the works of Sir Walter Scott, and assisted the editors of the centenary edition of the Letters of Sir Walter Scott, and brought out a revised text of The Journal of Sir Walter Scott[7] based on the original manuscript.[3] He died in Edinburgh in 1945.[3]

Rugby career

Tait with the 1880 Cambridge Varsity Match team. Tait is stood second on left with arms behind his back.

Tait first came to note as a rugby player when he represented his college team, (Edinburgh Academical). 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.

In 1880, now a freshman at Peterhouse College, 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.

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.

Amateur golfer

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 also 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]

Major championships

Results timeline

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

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ John Tait player profile Scrum.com
  2. ↑ Provisional Bibliography of Peter Guthrie Tait The University of Edinburgh, School of Mathematics
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tait, John Guthrie (TT880JG)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ↑ https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf
  5. ↑ January 1908 Indian Army List
  6. ↑ London Gazette 8 February 1919
  7. ↑ The Review of English Studies, 1948. Pg 261 oxfordjournals.org
  8. ↑ Low (1900), pg 168.
  9. 1 2 Low (1900), pg 170.
  10. ↑ Hutchinson, Horace G. (1919). Fifty Years of Golf. Offices of Country life. p. 103.
  11. ↑ "Golf Amateur Championship: Tournament at St Andrews". Glasgow Herald. 22 September 1886. p. 8. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  12. ↑ "Golf Amateur Championship: Result of Final Round". Glasgow Herald. 5 August 1887. p. 9. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  13. ↑ "Golf The Amateur Championship: The Second Day's Play". Glasgow Herald. 9 May 1901. p. 10. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
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