Dr Charles Frederick Knight

Died: 1 September 1920, Pontypridd, Wales

Dr. C.F. Knight
The Edinburgh Evening News, 7 May 1904, page 6.

Associated with the Portobello Chess Club (Edinburgh), where he was president, and with the formation of the Edinburgh Chess League, the first season of play in the League being 1903-4. He was on the Executive of the Scottish Chess Association, and he was also involved in the formation of the Scottish Ladies' Chess Association.

Dr Knight was clearly a benefactor to club chess, as well as to Scottish chess in general. He gave a donation of £2 2s to assist Portobello Club members who wished to represent the club in the Scottish Chess Association Congress.

Dr Knight contributed a trophy to the first winners of the Edinburgh League championship, the Edinburgh Working Men's Club. The trophy was to be known as the 'Knight Cup', and was described as a solid silver tankard of Celtic design, supported by three chess Knights of solid silver. The cover is jointed with a King for the thumb piece, and on the top is a Knight. The cup is richly chased with Celtic ornament, and the body has three fluted bands. He also presented a gold medal to be given to the player with the best individual score during the season, Mr A. Fraser.

The Knight Cup
The Edinburgh Evening News, 7 May 1904, page 6.

In the January 1905 issue of the BCM, it was stated that ' Dr Knight , president of the Edinburgh League, is trying to establish a Scottish Ladies' Chess Association, and wishes names and addresses of any ladies desirous of joining such a body. The doctor's address is Mount Charles, Portobello'. By the April issue of the BCM, it was being reported that the Association was successfully inaugurated on Saturday, 18 March.

Internet searches show a Dr C.F. Knight resident in Dublin at one point, with a reference to him qualifying M.D. 1877; this may be the same person. There is also the following reference, extracted from the book Indians in Britain: Anglo-Indian encounters, race and identity, 1880-1930, By Shompa Lahiri. Frank Cass Publishers, London & Portland, 2000, in a section discussing the problems faced by Indian students at the university of Edinburgh:

'Edinburgh attempted to overcome this problem by the establishment of a residential college for Indians known as Portobello, founded by Dr C.F. Knight. Meals and classes were provided in the evening and the university or medical school was attended during the day'.

This would actually appear to be a reference to the Forth Residential Medical College, Mount Charles, Portobello.

A reference in the British Medical Journal of December 30, 1911 gives Dr Knight's address as 7 Chambers Street, Edinburgh.

Additional:
Janet Gyford contributed information about Dr Knight and hs time in Witham, Essex, gleaned from newspapers. The reports can be found here.

Sources:
British Chess Magazine: 1903, p 265; 1904, pp 243-4; 1905, p 150.
British Medical Journal (online).
Chelmsford Chronicle, 3 September 1920, page 8.
Janet Gyford

Alan McGowan
Historian, Chess Scotland

updated 3/12/2022