Heinrich Rottenburg (6 October 1875 — 25 March 1955) was a Scottish international rugby union player.[1]
| Full name | Heinrich Rottenburg | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 October 1875 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 25 March 1955 (aged 79) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Cambridge, England | ||||||||||||||||
| School | Kelvinside Academy Loretto School | ||||||||||||||||
| University | King's College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Engineer | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Biography
editBorn in Glasgow, Rottenburg attended Kelvinside Academy and Loretto School, before studying mechanical science at King's College, Cambridge, where he was a varsity rugby fullback. He also played for representative matches with Middlesex and was capped five times for Scotland, which included regaining the Calcutta Cup from England in 1899. After two years in Pittsburgh working for Westinghouse, Rottenburg was posted to the company's Manchester works and resumed rugby briefly, playing for Manchester RFC and Lancashire.[2][3]
Rottenburg returned to the University of Cambridge in 1904 and lectured in electrical engineering. He was involved in athletics as a measurement official for the Amateur Athletic Association and is crediting with inventing the modern starting blocks, having come up with the original design of blocks that were adjustable and anchored to the track.[4][5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Reid, Alasdair (3 August 2016). "The greatest Scottish Olympians: from 10 to 6". The Times.
- ^ "Mr H. Rottenburg". The Guardian. 3 May 1955.
- ^ Reid, Alasdair (1 April 2020). "Colourful days when players were much more than just rugby machines". The Times.
- ^ "Scot who created the launchpad to success". The Herald. 5 August 2012.
- ^ Growden, Greg (18 August 2012). "New Waratahs set-up can make winners from wallflowers". The Sydney Morning Herald.
External links
edit- Harry Rottenburg at ESPNscrum