Early Life
Stampfl was born in the capital of then Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the son of an Austrian general. He studied writing and painting in school. After high school he attended the Vienna Academy of Art and had some success as a skier and javelin thrower. He represented his country at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles in the Javelin.
In 1937 sensing the rise of Adolf Hitler, he left Austria for England to study at the Chelsea School of Art. When Hitler marched into Austria in 1938, the British government demanded that he leave the country unless he showed a unique and necessary skill. Having taught skiing back in his homeland, Stampl pitched AAA officials to coach their athletes, earning him a job in Northern Ireland. This was in part due to assistance by Olympic legend Harold Abrahams.
Read more about this topic: Franz Stampfl
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“I would observe to you that what is called style in writing or speaking is formed very early in life while the imagination is warm, and impressions are permanent.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“Either life entails courage, or it ceases to be life.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)