Duncan Anderson McNaughton (December 7, 1910 – January 15, 1998) 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 ...

, who competed mainly in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. He went on to a career in

petroleum geology Petroleum geology is the study of origin, occurrence, movement, accumulation, and exploration of hydrocarbon fuels. It refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons (oil exploration). Sedime ...

Biography

McNaughton was born in

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York (state), New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Unit ...

, and grew up in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. At the 1930 British Empire Games he finished fourth in the high jump event. He competed for Canada in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

, held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States, in the high jump where he won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

Bob Van Osdel Bob Van Osdel (''Robert Logan Van Osdel;'' April 1, 1910 – April 6, 1987) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the high jump. He competed for the United States in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the ...

, who took home the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

, was a close friend and teammate from the University of Southern California. Van Osdel helped coach McNaughton to his win during the final minutes of the competition. Later, in 1933 when McNaughton's medal was stolen from his car, Van Osdel—then a dentist—made a replica to replace it with a cast of his silver medal. The men remained friends until Van Osdel's death in 1987; McNaughton stayed in contact with his widow until his death in 1998. McNaughton studied geology at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

and went on to receive a Master's degree from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. He worked for the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...

, then explored for oil in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and later served with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He received a PhD in geology from USC and was also an assistant professor of geology there. McNaughton later helped initiate oil and gas exploration in the

Amadeus Basin The Amadeus Basin is a large (~170,000 km2) intracratonic sedimentary basin in central Australia, lying mostly within the southern Northern Territory, but extending into the state of Western Australia. Origins The Amadeus Basin is named ...

of central

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and Palm Valley. McNaughton died at his home in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

in 1998.

Honors

McNaughton was inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955. An annual grant is awarded in his name to a graduate student by the

American Association of Petroleum Geologists The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is one of the world's largest professional geological societies with more than 40,000 members across 129 countries as of 2021. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNaughton, Duncan 1910 births 1998 deaths Canadian male high jumpers Olympic gold medalists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1930 British Empire Games 20th-century Canadian geologists Geological Survey of Canada personnel University of Southern California alumni Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from Ontario Sportspeople from Cornwall, Ontario Athletes from Vancouver California Institute of Technology alumni Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) 20th-century Canadian people