Hubert Leonard Spence (May 23, 1909 – November 10, 1947) was a swimmer from

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

(present-day

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

) who competed for Bermuda in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. In 1933, the three brothers Leonard,

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

and

Walter Spence Walter Percy Spence (March 3, 1901 – October 16, 1958) was a swimmer from British Guiana (present-day Guyana) who competed for Canada in the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1932 Summer Olympics. He immigrated to the United States and held several ...

won the 3×100 medley relay at the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) championships – the only such feat in the AAU history. Later, they set a world record in this event. Leonard participated in the

in the 100 m freestyle, 200 m breaststroke and 4 × 200 m freestyle events, but did not reach the finals. In 1967, the Spence brothers were inducted to the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

Biography

Spence was born in a jungle near Christianburg,

, in a family of four brothers and four sisters. His father was Scottish and worked as a

big game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("spo ...

and

guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Expl ...

, while his mother was Indian (of indigenous American descent, or from India, both are possible in Guyana?). The Spences would swim in the

Demerara River The Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana that rises in the central rainforests of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated o ...

, and six family members bore scars from

piranha A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, ...

bites. Leonard, Wallace and Walter became competitive swimmers. Their youngest brother, Harold, was also a promising swimmer, but was killed in action in

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 ...

. Two of their sisters also swam competitively, although not at the level of their brothers. Walter, the eldest brother, soon realized that he can not grow as a swimmer in Guiana, and immigrated to the United States in 1923. Wallace and the youngest brother Leonard followed him in 1926 and 1928, respectively. They formed a 3×100 m medley team and won the AAU championships in 1933, and later set a world record in this event. In 1935, together with Peter Fick, they became AAU champions in the 4 × 100 m medley relay. In their team, Leonard specialized in breaststroke, and at some point held nearly all AAU titles and records from 100 yards to one mile. During 1931–1932, he set two world records in the 200 m breaststroke. However, he also competed in the crawl at the AAU and 1936 Olympics. His career was hampered by

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

; he contracted it around 1931, but realized that only six years later. He died in

Mount Pleasant, New York Mount Pleasant is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town population was 44,436. The hamlet (N ...

, in 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Leonard 1909 births 1947 deaths People from Linden, Guyana Guyanese male swimmers Guyanese emigrants to the United States Indo-Guyanese people Guyanese people of Scottish descent Bermudian male swimmers Olympic swimmers for Bermuda Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state)

Biography

See also

References