Theodore Pike
{{Short description|Irish colonial administrator and sports international}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = Sir
|name = Theodore Pike
|honorific-suffix = KCMG
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|office1 = Governor of British Somaliland
|term_start1 = 1954
|term_end1 = 1959
|predecessor1 = Sir Gerald Reece
|successor1 = Sir Douglas Hall
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|8|2|df=y}}
|birth_place = Thurles, Ireland
|death_date = {{death date and age|1987|12|27|1904|8|2|df=y}}
|death_place = Guildford, England
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Sir Theodore Ouseley Pike KCMG (2 August 1904 – 27 December 1987) was an Irish colonial administrator and a rugby union international.
Early life
Pike was born in Thurles in County Tipperary in 1904. In 1904, Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
; Rugby international
In his youth, Pike was a keen sportsman: he played rugby union, usually as prop. He was good enough to play to international standard and represented Ireland, by then a divided nation politically but still fielding an All-Ireland rugby team, for two seasons.[http://www.espnscrum.com/ireland/rugby/player/3413.html Theodore Pike player profile] Scrum.com In 1927 and in 1928, Pike took part in 7 matches in the Five Nations Championship, playing against France and all the other Home Nations. In addition, Pike played for Britain in a test against Australia. In 1929 he played for London Irish.
Career
Pike made his career in colonial administration, rising to become from 1954 to 1959 Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British Somaliland, now the unrecognized state of Somaliland, in international law a part of Somalia. In 1956, he was knighted, as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, to become Sir Theodore Pike.