David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter

Born near Stamford, Lincolnshire, as heir to the 5th Marquess of Exeter, Lord Burghley was educated at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland and Eton College and Magdalene College, Cambridge.[1][3] At Cambridge, he was president of the Cambridge University Athletics Club and a member of the Pitt Club.[4]

The Marquess of Exeter (in red blazer) in the foreground after presenting the medals for the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics

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 (400 m) hurdles from 1926 to 1928, and again in 1930 and 1932.

Burghley made his Olympic 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 semifinal of the 110 metre hurdles competition, but won the 400 metres 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 was also a member of the gold medal winning British 4×440 yards relay team. In 1927–1930 Burghley also set several British records, one of which, 24.7 s in the 220 yard hurdles, set in 1927, stood until 1950.[1]

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 the British 4 × 400 metres relay team, which set a new European record in the process.[1]

In 1933, Burghley became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Three years later he was elected President of the Amateur Athletic Association and Chairman of the British Olympic Association. In 1946 he became President of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and later acted as Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 1948 Summer Olympics. Between 1952 and 1966 he was vice-president of the IOC and was a presidential candidate in 1952 and 1964.[1]

As an IOC member and president of the IAAF, Burghley presented the medals for the 200 m at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 and appeared in some famous images of the Black Power salute given by Tommie Smith and John Carlos.[5] When later asked what he had thought of the gloves, he said: "I thought they had hurt their hand."[6]

Burghley was a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party 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. He was for many years Chairman of the Junior Imperial League. Burghley resigned his Commons seat in 1943 when he was appointed Governor of Bermuda, a post in which he served until 1945.[1]

The Marquess of Exeter was a descendant of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, chief minister and, later, treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. On his death the title passed to his brother, Martin Cecil.

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.[1] They were divorced in 1946. They had four children, nine grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.

• Lady Davina Mary Cecil (born 29 June 1931) she married Harry John Neville Vane, 11th Baron Barnard, on 8 October 1952. They have five children, nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
• John William Edward Cecil (1 June 1933 – 6 July 1934)
• Lady Gillian Moyra Katherine Cecil (born 8 March 1935) she married Sir Giles Henry Charles Floyd, 7th Baronet, on 23 November 1954 and they were divorced in 1978. They have two sons and four grandchildren. She remarried George Michael Kertesz in 1979. She remarried again Jeremy F. R. Smith on 15 April 2008.
  • David Henry Cecil Floyd (born 2 April 1956) he married Caroline Beckly on 20 June 1981. They have two daughters.
  • Henry Edward Cecil Floyd (born 3 August 1958=22 March 2013) he married Leonor Castillo, daughter of Sergio Castillo, on 13 April 1994. They have two children.
• Lady Angela Mary Rose Cecil (born 21 May 1938) she married Sir Michael Oswald on 21 April 1958. They have two children. Lady Angela was a long-term friend and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
  • Katharine Davina Mary Oswald (born 19 March 1959)
  • William Alexander Oswald (born 26 May 1962)

He married secondly, the war widow Diana Henderson (1911–1982), granddaughter of Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon,[1] and had a daughter:

• Lady Victoria Diana Cecil (born 28 June 1947); she married Simon Patrick Leatham, son of Major Patrick Magor Leatham, on 25 April 1967. They have two children:
  • Miranda Rosemary Leatham (born 19 October 1969) she married Orlando Rock (born 28 July 1968) in 1997. They have four children.
  • Richard David Leatham (born 5 April 1971) he married Georgina Susan Mounsey, daughter of Simon Mounsey, on 4 October 1996. They have one son.

In June 1927, in his final year at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Burghley sprinted around the Great Court at Trinity College at midnight in the time it took the college clock to toll 12 o'clock. This inspired the scene in the film Chariots of Fire in which Harold Abrahams accomplishes the same feat. The character Lord Andrew Lindsay in Chariots of Fire is based upon Burghley but he did not allow his name to be used because of the inaccurate historical depiction in the film. There was never a race in which Abrahams beat Burghley in this feat as the film suggests.[7]

He was the first to run the 367 metres (401 yards) around the court in the 43.6 seconds that it takes the clock to strike 12 o'clock. Known as the Great Court Run, students traditionally attempt to complete the circuit on the evening of the Matriculation Dinner.[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Burghley.

• "Burghley: Bermuda’s Olympian Governor" (2012 article)
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess of Exeter
• David George Burghley at the International Olympic Committee
• Lord Burghley & the 1948 Olympics - UK Parliament Living Heritage

Sporting positions
Preceded by Sigfrid Edström	Presidents of the IAAF 1946–1976	Succeeded by Adriaan Paulen
Preceded by Joseph Goebbels Karl Ritter von Halt	President of Organizing Committee for Summer Olympic Games 1948	Succeeded by Ilmari Salminen
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by James Horrabin	Member of Parliament for Peterborough 1931–1943	Succeeded by Viscount Suirdale
Government offices
Preceded by Viscount Knollys	Governor of Bermuda 1943–1945	Succeeded by Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham
Academic offices
Preceded by George Cunningham	Rector of the University of St Andrews 1949–1952	Succeeded by The Earl of Crawford
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by William Cecil	Marquess of Exeter 1956–1981	Succeeded by William Cecil