Thorpe

Thorpe, Jim (James Thorpe), 1888-1953, American athlete, b. near Prague, Okla. Thorpe was probably the greatest all-round male athlete the United States has ever produced. His mother, a Sac, named him Bright Path, and in 1907 he entered the Carlisle Indian School at Carlisle, Pa. He joined (1908) the Carlisle football team, coached by Glenn ("Pop") Warner, and in 1911-12 Thorpe, playing left halfback, led Carlisle in startling upsets over such highly rated teams as Harvard, Army, and the Univ. of Pennsylvania. In 1912, Thorpe took part in the Olympic games held at Stockholm, Sweden, and performed magnificently. He won the broad jump and the 200-meter and 1,500-meter runs of the pentathlon; won the shot put, the 1,500-meter run, and the hurdle race of the decathlon; and was the runner-up in the other events of the pentathlon and decathlon. In 1913, however, Thorpe surrendered his awards, at the request of the Amateur Athletic Union and the insistence of Glenn Warner, to the Olympic headquarters in Switzerland; it had been discovered that Thorpe had played (1909-10) semiprofessional baseball with the Rocky Mount, N.C., team of the North Carolina Eastern League. The medals were restored posthumously in 1982. In 1919, Thorpe played briefly with the New York Giants baseball team. He afterward played professional football with the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs and other teams and later became supervisor of recreation for the Chicago parks. Jim Thorpe, Pa., where he was buried in 1954, is named in his honor. With T. F. Collison, he wrote Jim Thorpe's History of the Olympics (1932).

in full James Francis Thorpe

(born May 28, 1888, near Prague, Indian Territory—died March 28, 1953, Lomita, Calif., U.S.) U.S. athlete. Of predominantly American Indian (Sauk and Fox) descent, he trained as a football halfback under Pop Warner while attending the Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pa. (1908–12), where he also excelled at baseball, basketball, boxing, lacrosse, swimming, and hockey. In 1912 he won the Olympic decathlon and pentathlon by wide margins, but he was deprived of his medals in 1913 after it was discovered he had played semiprofessional baseball. He later played professional baseball and football, and in 1920–21 he served as first president of what would become the National Football League. His Olympic medals were restored posthumously in 1983.

Learn more about Thorpe, Jim with a free trial on Britannica.com.

in full James Francis Thorpe

(born May 28, 1888, near Prague, Indian Territory—died March 28, 1953, Lomita, Calif., U.S.) U.S. athlete. Of predominantly American Indian (Sauk and Fox) descent, he trained as a football halfback under Pop Warner while attending the Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pa. (1908–12), where he also excelled at baseball, basketball, boxing, lacrosse, swimming, and hockey. In 1912 he won the Olympic decathlon and pentathlon by wide margins, but he was deprived of his medals in 1913 after it was discovered he had played semiprofessional baseball. He later played professional baseball and football, and in 1920–21 he served as first president of what would become the National Football League. His Olympic medals were restored posthumously in 1983.

Learn more about Thorpe, Jim with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Thorpe-le-Soken is a village in Essex, located southwest of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea and northwest of Clacton-on-Sea.

The village is served by Thorpe-le-Soken railway station. This is a notable junction, as trains from London Liverpool Street would divide here, with separate parts continuing to Walton on the Naze and Clacton.

Thorpe-le-Soken has a primary school located in the High Street called Rolph CofE Primary School.

Thorpe-le-Soken is also home to the Thorpe Campus of Tendring Technology College (Years 7, 8 and 9) in Landermere Road. The college is one of the biggest comprehensive schools in North Essex with around 1,700 pupils.

In recent years, the village has become very popular with locals and is home to several fine pubs and restaurants.

Notable Residents

• Sir William Gull (1816 – 1890), Royal physician, and suggested as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders, is buried in St Michael's churchyard.
• Field Marshal Lord Byng of Vimy GCB GCMG MVO (1862 – 1935), an officer who served with distinction during World War I and as Governor General of Canada, lived in Thorpe-le-Soken during his retirement and died at Thorpe Hall.

External links

• Rolph Primary School Education League Table Page from BBC Site
• Local Website with events and news
• Tendring Technology College Website