John Guthrie Tait (24 August 1861 – 4 October 1945)^[1]V.D. was aScottish educator who became principal of theCentral College of Bangalore prior to the First World War. In his early adulthood, Tait was a notable sportsman playingrugby union as a forward forCambridge University and represented theScotland international team twice between 1880 and 1885. As well as being a talented rugby player, Tait was, like his brotherFrederick Guthrie Tait, a notable amateur golfer.

Tait was born inEdinburgh in 1861, the eldest son of Scottish mathematical physicistPeter Guthrie Tait and Margaret Archer Porter.^[2]

He was educated at theEdinburgh Academy from 1871 to 1877 before studying Law atPeterhouse, Cambridge, from 1880.^[3] He received his BA in 1884, and on 7 November the same year was admitted atLincoln's Inn.^[3] Tait was called to The Bar on 25 April 1888 and was awarded his MA in 1890.

In 1890 he travelled toIndia and took up a post in the Government Education Department atMysore,Karnataka. He became Professor of Languages and vice-principal ofCentral College of Bangalore, and in 1908 he was made principal of the college.^[3]

He was commissioned a Captain in the Bangalore Rifle Volunteers on 31 October 1893.^[4] He resigned his commission as a Lieutenant-Colonel 12 July 1917.^[5] He was awarded the Volunteer Decoration for his long service.

In 1937 he was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers wereD'Arcy Wentworth Thompson,William Peddie,Arthur Crichton Mitchell and SirEdmund Taylor Whittaker.^[6]

In his later life, Tait became a keen student of the works ofSir Walter Scott, and assisted the editors of the centenary edition of theLetters of Sir Walter Scott, and brought out a revised text ofThe Journal of Sir Walter Scott^[7] based on the original manuscript.^[3]

He died in Edinburgh in 1945.^[3] He is buried next to his parents in the churchyard ofSt John's Episcopal Church, Edinburgh. The grave lies on the second burial terrace, down fromPrinces Street on the east side of the church.

Tait first came to note as a rugby union player when he representedEdinburgh Academicals.

In 1880, now a freshman at Peterhouse, Tait was selected for the Cambridge University team. At the end of the year Tait was part of the Cambridge team to faceOxford University in the annualVarsity Match, now played at Blackheath. This was Tait's first sporting 'Blue', and the game ended in a respectful draw. Tait missed the 1881 game, but was back in the team for the 1882, led by fellow Peterhouse studentHerbert Fuller. The game was won by Oxford, thanks to a clevertry scored byAlan Rotherham.

He played forEdinburgh District in their inter-city match againstGlasgow District on20 December 1879.

He then played forEast of Scotland District in their match againstWest of Scotland District on31 January 1880.

In 1880 he was selected for the Scotland national team, in aHome Nations friendly againstIreland. Scotland were easy victors, winning by three goals to nil; but despite the victory Tait was not part of the Scotland team that faced England for theCalcutta Cup just two weeks later.

Tait played one final notable game, when in 1885 he was called back into the Scotland side, to once again face Ireland, this time as part of the1885 Home Nations Championship. The game ended in another Scottish victory, but Tait would not represent his country in rugby again.

Tait was a keen golfer, and in his younger days he taught his younger brother,Frederick Guthrie Tait, the basic techniques of the sport. Before leaving for India, Tait entered several amateur golfing tournaments, and in 1887 reached the semi-final stage of the Amateur Championship atHoylake;^[9] being eventually knocked out byJohn Ball.^[10] Although the tutor of his brothers, Frederick would surpass Tait in style and ability, and Frederick's style "...was neater, more finished, more polished, than Jack's (John)."^[9]

Note: Tait played in onlyThe Amateur Championship.

DNP = Did not play
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Yellow background for top-10

On 7 January 1904 he married Annie Smith Cook, daughter of the Principal of the Central College,John CookFRSE (d.1915).^[14]

His younger brother was LtFrederick Guthrie Tait.

• Godwin, Terry (1984).The International Rugby Championship 1883-1983. London: Willows Books.ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
• Low, John L. (1900).F. G. Tait, A Record; Being his Life, Letters, and golfing diary. London: J. Nisbet & Co.
• Marshall, Howard; Jordon, J.P. (1951).Oxford v Cambridge, The Story of the University Rugby Match. London: Clerke & Cockeran.

• 1861 births
• 1945 deaths
• Scottish rugby union players
• Scotland international rugby union players
• Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players
• Rugby union forwards
• Rugby union players from Edinburgh
• Edinburgh Academicals rugby union players
• Scottish male golfers
• Amateur golfers
• Scottish educators
• Scottish Episcopalians
• Indian Army personnel of World War I
• Indian Defence Force officers
• Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• People educated at Edinburgh Academy
• Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge
• Golfers from Edinburgh
• Edinburgh District (rugby union) players
• East of Scotland District players

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• Use dmy dates from February 2021