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William Penny Brookes (13 August 1809 – 11 December 1895) was an English surgeon,
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
,
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
, and
educationalist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...
especially known for founding the
Wenlock Olympian Games The Wenlock Olympian Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are organised by the Wenlock Olympian Society (WOS), and are held each year at venues across Shropshire, England, centred on the little market town o ...
, inspiring the modern
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, and for his promotion of physical education and personal betterment. Brookes was born, lived, worked and died in the small market town of
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...
, Shropshire, England. He was apprenticed to his father, Dr William Brookes, and later studied in London, England; Paris, France and Padua, Italy, before returning home to Much Wenlock in 1831.Wenlock Olympian Society archives Brookes was a social reformer, who campaigned to give opportunities for what he termed "every grade of man" to expand their knowledge and become mentally and physically fit. He established the Wenlock Agricultural Reading Society (WARS) in 1841 to provide the opportunity of acquiring knowledge but especially to provide opportunities for the working classes. The Society ran a library for working-class subscribers and interest groups called "classes" met at the Corn Exchange, the WARS headquarters for the benefit of the people of the vast Borough of Wenlock and its neighbourhood. He established the Olympian Class of that Society in 1850 to inspire local people to keep fit by encouraging them to train and take part in the sports competitions at the annual Wenlock Olympian Games. athletic exercises, ranging from running to football, by holding an annual games offering prizes for sports competitions. Later, competitions for "cultural" events were added. This opened the door for the working classes to enter competitive sport which, in the United Kingdom, had previously been the privilege of only the elite. Following the 1860 Games, the Olympian Class separated from WARS due to an irrevocable difference of opinion between the two organisations, and it changed its name to Wenlock Olympian Society (WOS) to emphasise that it was now independent. His lifelong campaign to get
Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
on the school curriculum brought him into contact with Baron
Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; ...
. In 1890, the young French
aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...
visited Much Wenlock and stayed with Dr Brookes at his lifelong home in Wilmore Street. The Society staged a games especially for the baron and, inspired by the event and his discussions with Brookes, Coubertin wrote: "If the Olympic Games that Modern Greece has not yet been able to revive still survives there today, it is due, not to a Greek, but to Dr W P Brookes". Coubertin went on to set up the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
in 1894, which was followed by the Athens 1896 Olympic Games that came under the auspices of the Committee. In 1994, the then President of the International Olympic Committee,
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch ( Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh P ...
, laid a wreath on the grave of William Penny Brookes saying, "I came to pay homage and tribute to Dr Brookes, who really was the founder of the modern Olympic Games".In book's Introduction.


Life

William Penny Brookes was born in
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...
, where his father, William Brookes, was a local doctor. He was apprenticed to his father on 12 August 1824, studied at
St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
, London from September 1829 to May 1830, then studied in the hospitals of
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, until the end of August 1830. Later he went to
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and '' comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
in Italy famous for the
Orto botanico di Padova The Orto Botanico di Padova is a botanical garden in Padua, in the northeastern part of Italy. Founded in 1545 by the Venetian Republic, it is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. The garden – ...
, 16th century herb gardens. There he studied herbal medicines and botany, although not as a student of Padua University, and was there for about six months before returning home to Much Wenlock at the end of February 1831. During his medical studies in Paris he learned of his father's death. When he arrived back at Much Wenlock in 1831, he returned to the family home and took over his father's large medical practice.William Penny Brookes
Wenlock Olympian Society
As a botanist, he provided information on plants growing around Wenlock and also Shropshire for Charles Hulbert's ''The History and Description of the County of Salop'' (1837), and
William Allport Leighton William Allport Leighton (17 May 1805 – 28 February 1889) was an English Church of England clergyman and botanist. Life He was the only son of William and Lucy Maria Leighton. His mother was the daughter and coheiress of John Allport of Pres ...
's ''Flora of Shropshire'' (1841). His herbarium is held at the Much Wenlock Town Council's archives. He also became actively involved in the local community, becoming a
Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same ...
in 1841 and remaining an active magistrate for over 40 years. It is likely that he would have been confronted with cases of petty crime, drunkenness, and theft in the local community, which almost certainly influenced his desire to develop structured physical exercise and education for the working classes and young people generally. Also in 1841, he instigated the setting up of the Wenlock Agricultural Reading Society (WARS), with its early lending library "for the promotion and diffusion of useful information". From these endeavours evolved various interest groups called "classes" including art, music, botany and subsequently an Olympian Class.Welcome to Wenlock Olympian Society
wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk
All the WARS "classes", the lectures they held and the library were open to "every grade of man", at Brookes' insistence. "The Olympian Class" was set up in 1850 "for the promotion of the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock and especially of the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation, and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings for skill in Athletic exercise and proficiency in Intellectual and industrial attainments". The first Games meeting was held in October 1850, and included competitions in classic athletics and also country sports such as quoits, football and cricket. When these first Wenlock Olympian Games were staged in 1850, there was heavy criticism of Brookes's insistence that the Games was open to the working classes and thus have a large number of scantily-dressed young men performing in front of women. It was felt that such an event would cause drunkenness, rioting, lewd behaviour, and that men would leave their wives. The Games were a huge success and none of the threatened disturbances occurred.Wenlock Olympian Society archives Minute Book 1 The Games quickly expanded, and within a few years it was attracting competitors from as far away as London and Liverpool. Brookes was himself elected to annual office in the Society as: Secretary in years 1850 and 1851, 1860 and 1874; Treasurer 1858 and 1859, 1870, and 1880 to 1882; and President in 1854 and 1855, 1857, 1862 to 1867, and 1891. Brookes was a
Philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...
, who admired the perceived definition of Ancient Greek democratic ideals, that all men were equal and allowed and indeed expected to vote, take an active part in governance, and compete in sport. In reality, this was a misconception as only free-born adult male citizens (approximately 20% of the population) were permitted to vote, etc. (see also ( Athenian democracy). In nineteenth century Britain it was usually young men educated at public schools or the sons of professionals who had the opportunities to enter competitive sport. Brookes applied what was commonly thought to be the ethos of the ancient Olympic Games – that they were open to "every grade of man," and added to this mediaeval chivalry: he wanted working-class men to compete in sport but to exercise fair play/chivalry at all levels of competition. In 1858, Brookes established contact with the organisers of an Olympic Games revival in Athens sponsored by the Albanian-born Greek businessman
Evangelis Zappas Evangelos or Evangelis Zappas ( el, Ευάγγελος or ; ro, Evanghelie Zappa; 23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865) was a Greek patriot, philanthropist and businessman who spent most of his life in Romania. He is recognized today as one of the ...
. The Olympian Class sent a prize of £10 which was awarded to the winner of the Seven-Fold Foot Race, Petros Velissariou (an ethnic Greek from Smyrna, the former Greek city which at this time was in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
). Velissariou was made the first Honorary Member of the Wenlock Olympian Class. The 1859 Wenlock Olympian Games were much expanded following nine years of work to build up subscriptions and attracted more competitors with new competitions and brought in spectators through more organised pageantry and better advertising. The following year, even more people came as there was a well-publicised opening celebration for the laying of the first stone for Much Wenlock's first railway which was another of Brookes' projects. This, coupled with the discovery of the Roman city of
Viroconium Viroconium or Uriconium, formally Viroconium Cornoviorum, was a Roman city, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter, a small village in Shropshire, England, about east-south-east of Shrewsbury. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to ...
in the village of
Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. ''Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was sit ...
and the inclusion of a whole range of spectacular competitions open to regiments from the newly instigated national Volunteer Rifle Corps encouraged a further increase in competitors and spectators. Also, inspired by the revived Greek Olympic Games, Brookes added "throwing the javelin" and writing an "Ode to the Olympian Games" to the Wenlock Olympian games programme. In the November following the 1860 Games, the Olympian Class separated from WARS and changed its name to Wenlock Olympian Society (WOS), due to an irrevocable difference of opinion between some members of the WARS Committee and Brookes (who was supported by his Olympian Committee). In that same year, Brookes instigated the setting up of the annual Shropshire Olympian Games which were intended rotate venue from town to town around the county. In 1865, Brookes was instrumental in setting up the National Olympian Association based in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. Their first Olympian Games, a national event, held in 1866 at
The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...
, London, was a surprising success and attracted a crowd of over ten thousand people.
W.G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...
, who would later gain fame as a cricketer, won the hurdles event. The Amateur Athletic Club, later to become the
Amateur Athletics Association The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Brita ...
, was quickly formed as a rival organisation to the National Olympian Association. In 1877, Brookes requested a prize from Greece to mark
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
's jubilee. In response, King
George I of Greece George I (Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...
sent a silver cup which was presented at the Shropshire Olympian Games held that year in Shrewsbury. In 1881, Brookes was again in contact with the Greek government, when he tried to instigate an Olympic Games in Athens open to international competitors. Sadly this attempt failed as Greece had many pressing political problems. Brookes was also heavily involved in many other local activities. He became Chairman of the Wenlock Gas Company in 1856, which first brought lighting to the town. He was a Commissioner for Roads and Taxes, Overseer of the Poor, and also became a Director of both the Much Wenlock and Severn Junction Railway Company and the later Wenlock Railway Company. The first train to Much Wenlock was arranged to coincide with the Wenlock Olympian Games of 1861. He was manager of the Much Wenlock National School, where, in 1871, he helped introduce drill and physical exercise into the curriculum. He believed that as children at the school were likely to be employed in jobs that required physical strength, such as farming or quarrying, development of their physical strength was equally as important as their mental ability. Brookes was progressive for his day in noting the link between mental and physical agility. In 1889, he invited Baron
Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; ...
, the organiser of an International Congress on Physical Education, to Much Wenlock. He accepted, and in October 1890, he went to stay at the Brookes family home for several days. A meeting of the Wenlock Olympian Games was held in Coubertin's honour with much pageantry. After every Olympian Games there was a dinner, and on this occasion, the dinner was held at The Raven Hotel. Today The Raven Hotel has a display of several photographs about WOS by kind permission of the Society, including copies of original letters from Coubertin to Brookes. On his return to France, Coubertin gave a glowing account of his stay in an article, "Les Jeux Olympiques à Much Wenlock", and referred to his host's efforts to revive the Olympics. He wrote : "If the Olympic Games that Modern Greece has not yet been able to revive still survives there today, it is due, not to a Greek, but to Dr W P Brookes".Wenlock Olympian Society archives Minute Book 2 Although Coubertin later sought to downplay Brookes's influence, he corresponded with him for several years and sent him a gold medal (made of silver) in 1891 to be presented to the winner of the Tilting Competition. Brookes died just four months before the
1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
held in Athens in 1896, organised by Coubertin's
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
.


Legacy

The Wenlock Olympian Society maintains his original ideals, and continues to organise annual Olympian Games. The Live arts takes place in March each year, and the sports takes place in July. William Brookes SchoolWilliam Brookes School
/ref> in Much Wenlock is named after him.


References


Further reading

* Ashrafian, H. (2005). "William Penny Brookes (1809–1895): Forgotten Olympic Lord of the Rings" in ''British Journal of Sports Medicine'', 2005;39:969 * Beale, Catherine (2011). "Born out of Wenlock, William Penny Brookes and the British origins of the modern Olympics". Derby: DB Publishing. . * Furbank, Muriel; Cromarty, Helen; McDonald, Glyn (1996). ''William Penny Brookes and the Olympic Connection''. Much Wenlock: Wenlock Olympian Society. * Mullins, Sam (1986). ''British Olympians: William Penny Brookes and the Wenlock Games''. London: Birmingham Olympic Council. * Nicolle, Dorothy (2010). ''William Brookes and the Olympic Games''. Wem: Blue Hills Press. .


External links


Wenlock Olympian SocietyBBC – Father of the modern Olympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, William Penny English botanists Founders of the modern Olympic Games 1809 births 1895 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors People from Much Wenlock Physical education in the United Kingdom Sport in Shropshire University of Paris alumni British expatriates in France