Famous Fencers
Winston Churchill, won Public Schools Fencing championship in foil in his youth.
Harry Truman, fenced in his youth in Missouri.
Theodore Roosevelt said in his autobiography, “While President I used to box with some of the aides, as well
as play single-stick [wood version of fencing] with General Wood.”
Ezra Pound, the famous American poet, became fencing master and secretary to the great Irish Poet W. B. Yeats,
after meeting him in 1912. William Butler Yeats started learning to fence at age forty-eight. Eleven years after learning to fence, Yeats won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.
Rene Descartes, was a fencing master along with being a philosopher.
Richard Burton (Writer/explorer) was a fencer.
Alexander Dumas, the famous writer of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, participated in duels.
Grace Kelly was trained to fence for her role in ‘The Swan’, Charles Vidor’s 1956 movie in which Grace Kelly plays a princess who adores fencing.
George Peppard was a fencing instructor before becoming famous in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ with Audrey Hepburn.
Jessica Yu, a member of the 1986 USA National Fencing Team that competed at the World Championships, won an Academy
Award for her documentary “Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien”. At the 1997 Academy Awards Ceremony, she said,
“You know you've entered new terrain when your outfit costs more than your film.” She has directed episodes of hit shows like
“E.R.” and “The West Wing”, according to IMDB.com.
General George S. Patton Jr. competed the 1912 Stockholm Olympics in the Modern Pentathlon. He placed fifth overall.
In 1913, he arrived at Mounted Service School in Fort Riley, Kansas. He became the school’s first Master of the Sword and taught classes in swordsmanship.
Neil Diamond was a New York University saber fencer before his career as an entertainer.
Bruce Dickerson, the lead singer for Iron Maiden, fences and owns the British fencing equipment maker, The Duellist.
Jimmy Buffett, famous for his Margaritaville song, enjoys fencing.
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