Arnold Heyworth Beckett (12 February 1920 – 25 January 2010) was a British pharmacist, academic, and expert on doping in sport.

Early life

Beckett was born on 12 February 1920 in

The Fylde The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills ...

, Lancashire, England. He was educated at

Baines School Baines School is a secondary school in Poulton-Le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. It was founded through James Baines will in 1717 and is a former grammar school. It was one of three schools set up in Baines' will, the others being at Marton and T ...

, then a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Poulton-le-Fylde Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation i ...

. He studied at the

School of Pharmacy The basic requirement for pharmacists A pharmacist, also known as a chemist ( Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distribute ...

and Birkbeck College, both part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He completed his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(BSc) degree in 1947 and his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(PhD) degree in 1950. He took, but failed, the Civil Service entrance examination.

Career

Beckett rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s when steroid use amongst athletes was banned from certain competitions. He participated in several high profile investigations such as Canadian sprinter

Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football *Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...

who was ultimately stripped of his Olympic gold medal for testing positive for the drugs in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. After controversial rulings were delivered following the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, Beckett resigned from the medical commission and ultimately became an advocate for athletes accused of doping.

Honours

In July 1976, Beckett was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

(D.Sc.) degree by Heriot-Watt University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Arnold 1920 births 2010 deaths English pharmacists People from the Borough of Fylde Alumni of the UCL School of Pharmacy Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Doping in sport