Introduction
Arthur Davidovitch MacPherson (1870-1919) was born in St Petersburg. He played a key part in establishing both Association football and tennis in his native land, helping Tsar Nicholas II to send a clear signal that Imperial Russia was becoming a modern and liberal society – the last thing the Communists wanted to see.
ARTHUR MacPherson’s grandfather, Murdoch, had moved from Perth to St Petersburg in the 1830s. But where Murdoch’s business was shipyards, Arthur was an investor, timber merchant, and sports promoter.
Arthur was chairman of St Petersburg’s pioneering football league from 1903 to 1905.* In 1912, he was elected founding President of the All-Russian Football Union, and served on the Empire’s Olympic Committee; by 1913 Russia’s tennis championship (which he had established in 1907) was an international event. The following year, Tsar Nicholas II conferred on him the Order of St Stanislaus. No Imperial honour had been given for sport before.
After the revolution of 1917 such favour drew suspicion, and two years later Arthur died in a typhoid-riddled Communist jail.* How proud Arthur would have been, though, of his sons, Robert and Arthur. Both served with Imperial Russia’s ally Britain in the Great War (Robert was killed in action in 1916),* and Arthur went on to play competitive tennis at the US Open and Wimbledon.*
The league ran from 1901 to 1917. See our post The Aspden Cup.
Arthur had received no medical attention, and his body was discovered in a pile of forty corpses.
Among the other casualties of the sinking of the HMS Hampshire on June 5th, 1916, was Lord Kitchener, who was on the way to Russia to strengthen co-operation between Britain and the Tsar. See Truth behind the sinking of HMS Hampshire revealed (Scotsman).
See our post on Arthur’s extraordinary football and tennis contemporary, Max Woosnam.
Précis
Arthur MacPherson was a Russian of Scottish descent who from 1903 played a key role in the development of football and tennis in the Russian Empire, for which he received the first Imperial honour for services to sport in 1914. However, he was arrested by the Communists following the revolution in 1917, and died in jail. (56 / 60 words)
Arthur MacPherson was a Russian of Scottish descent who from 1903 played a key role in the development of football and tennis in the Russian Empire, for which he received the first Imperial honour for services to sport in 1914. However, he was arrested by the Communists following the revolution in 1917, and died in jail.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, besides, despite, just, must, otherwise, since, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Action. Both. Timber.
2 Favor. Follow. Imperial.
3 He. Move. Year.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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