Norman Armitage (January 1, 1907, as Norman Cudworth Cohn, – March 14, 1972) was an American

saber A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

fencer.

Early life

Armitage, who was Jewish, was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

Fencing career

College

Armitage began fencing for the Columbia Lions fencing team when he was a student at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He won the 1928

Intercollegiate Fencing Association The Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) was the oldest collegiate fencing conference in the United States. It is affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Membership The IFA has 11 members. Cornell only competes in wome ...

sabre championship. He later attended

New York University Law School New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

, where in 1937 he earned a law degree, and in 1939 he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in

patent law A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

National sabre championships

In won 10 times in 25 appearances at the national championships: in 1930, from 1934 to 1936, from 1939 to 1943, and in 1945. He holds 17 national championship titles, more than any other US sabre fencer.

Olympics

Armitage competed in six Olympics, 1928–36 and 1948–56, only taking a break for

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 competed in the Olympics over a 28-year span. He carried the U.S. flag in the Olympic opening ceremony in 1952, and 1956. At the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

, he competed (as Norman Cohn) in the individual and team events. The American team was eliminated in the first round, and Armitage reached the semifinals in individual sabre. At 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 ...

, he reached the finals in the team event and finished fourth. In individual sabre, he placed ninth. Armitage competed at 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 spite of severe chemical burns on his right hand suffered in January of that year. (He was a

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

and later a

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...

.) He reached the semifinals in individual sabre, and placed fifth in the team sabre event. He won his only medal, a bronze, at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, in the team sabre event. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, Armitage competed in the team sabre event but not the individual sabre. They finished fourth.

Hall of Fame

Armitage was the first person to be inducted into the

USFA Hall of Fame The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fen ...

, in 1963.

References

External links

*
"Ivies in Athens"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Norman 1907 births 1972 deaths American male sabre fencers Jewish male sabre fencers Jewish American sportspeople Columbia Lions fencers Fencers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Columbia College (New York) alumni 20th-century American Jews