Eric Liddell, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Eric Liddell

Scottish athlete, sprinter, Olympian, Protestant missionary

Date of Birth: 16-Jan-1902

Place of Birth: Tianjin, China

Date of Death: 21-Feb-1945

Profession: missionary, sprinter, rugby union player

Nationality: United Kingdom

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish Olympic Gold Medalist runner, rugby union international player, and Christian missionary. Liddell was born in China to Scottish missionary parents.
He attended boarding school near London, spending time when possible with his family in Edinburgh, and afterwards attended the University of Edinburgh. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Liddell refused to run in the heats for his favoured 100 metres because they were held on a Sunday.
Instead he competed in the 400 metres held on a weekday, a race that he won.
He returned to China in 1925 to serve as a missionary teacher.
Aside from two furloughs in Scotland, he remained in China until his death in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945. Liddell's Olympic training and racing, and the religious convictions that influenced him, are depicted in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire, in which he is portrayed by fellow Scot Ian Charleson.