David Moffat Johnson (April 30, 1902 – January 3, 1973) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

and diplomat.

Early life

David Johnson was born in 1902 in Lachine,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He studied at McGill and after graduating with an arts degree in 1923, he became the first McGill athlete to earn a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Sportsman

Johnson was a star athlete at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, where he led the varsity track and field team to four consecutive championships in the 1920s. He was also an Olympian, as Canada's top

track runner Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

at the Olympic Games of 1924 in

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 ...

. He finished fourth in two events, including the 400-metre race that was won by Scotland's

Eric Liddell Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Qing China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended boarding school near London, spending time when p ...

. The race was immortalised in the film ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...

'' and was recorded in contemporary newsreel: Johnson's maple-leaf emblem standing out clearly on the inside lane. In October, 2007, he was posthumously inducted into the McGill Sports Hall of Fame.

Diplomat

David Johnson had a successful diplomatic career, being posted to: Ireland, Pakistan, New York, Vietnam and the USSR. In

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Johnson was Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN). In Vietnam, Johnson was the Canadian Commissioner and Permanent Representative for the

International Control Commission The International Control Commission (ICC), or in French la Commission Internationale de Contrôle (CIC), was an international force established in 1954. More formally called the International Commission for Supervision and Control, the organisati ...

(ICC). Johnson was the Canadian Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1956 to 1960. He resigned his position after an investigation forced him to admit his homosexuality. Johnson died in 1973.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, David 1902 births 1973 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Athletes from Montreal Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Canadian male sprinters Canadian Rhodes Scholars Canadian LGBT sportspeople McGill University alumni Olympic track and field athletes for Canada People from Lachine, Quebec 20th-century Canadian LGBT people