Harvey Vincent Sutton (18 February 1882 – 21 June 1963) was an Australian athlete and public health physician. He was Victoria's second Rhodes Scholar, following John Behan, a fellow alumnus of

Trinity College, Melbourne Trinity College is the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne, the first university in the colony of Victoria, Australia. The college was opened in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England by the government of Victori ...

Family

The son of Castlemaine gaol warder William Sutton (1838-1912), and Hannah Sutton (1837-1930), née Howe, Harvey Vincent Sutton was born at Castlemaine on 18 February 1882. He attended school at Castlemaine, and St Andrew's College, Bendigo. From 1898, he was a resident in

, while studying medicine at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

(M.B., 1902; Ch.B., 1903; M.D., 1905), receiving his clinical training at Melbourne Hospital. His older brother Edmund Hamilton "Ned" Sutton (1868-1911) played VFA football for both Carlton (1888-1889) and Melbourne (1895-1896), and also played with Melbourne (and was the team's captain) in its first two years in the VFL (1897 and 1898).

Athletics career

In 1903-04 Sutton became the Australian National Champion in the 880 yard race, having finished in third place two years earlier. In 1905 Sutton attended New College, Oxford, for whom he competed against Cambridge in athletics and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London on the

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

team, a combined squad of competitors from Australia and New Zealand. In the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

, Sutton placed third in his initial semifinal heat and did not advance to the final. His time was 2:00.0.

Later life

Sutton become resident medical officer at

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central L ...

before returning to Australia in 1909. He served as a doctor in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was twice mentioned in despatches and in 1919 was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his services in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. In 1921, Sutton transferred to the

NSW ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

school medical service and in 1930 he became the first director of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

. He had a particular interest in

eugenic Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

approaches to the moral and physical development of children. He believed that national development depended on state intervention in education and public health programs. Sutton died at his home in

Rose Bay, New South Wales Rose Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rose Bay is located seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Council (east of Old ...

in 1963.

Publications

Footnotes

References

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External links

ADB biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Harvey 1882 births 1963 deaths People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Australian male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australasia Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Australian military personnel of World War I 20th-century Australian medical doctors Australian military doctors Academic staff of the University of Sydney Military personnel from Victoria (state)