Sir Adolphe Abrahams (6 February 1883 – 11 December 1967) was a British medical doctor, and he is considered to be the founder of British

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

Career

Abrahams was born in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

on 6 February 1883, as the son of Isaac and Esther Abrahams. He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

between 1891 and 1899, at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

, and at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. Abrahams is considered the founder of British sports science. He was the medical officer in charge of the British Olympic teams from 1912 until 1948. He was also the President of the British Association of Sports and Medicine, and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

. Abrahams was knighted in 1939.

Family life

Abrahams married Adrienne Walsh in 1922; they had a son and a daughter. He was the elder brother of the athletes

Harold Abrahams Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. Early life and educati ...

and Sir Sidney Abrahams . He died on 11 December 1967. In the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, about his brother Harold Abrahams played by Ben Cross, Harold shows his friend a picture of his brother, a doctor, who was Adolphe Abrahams.

References

1883 births 1967 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bedford School People educated at Bedford Modern School Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor 20th-century English medical doctors 20th-century British Jews Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians English people of Polish-Jewish descent English people of Welsh descent Cape Colony emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Cape Town {{UK-med-bio-stub