A short history lesson on croquet's first rules

Arguably croquet was the third modern 'British derived' sport codified, after cricket in 1788 and soccer in 1863. Walter Jones Whitmore wrote the first set of rules for croquet in 1864 and published them in 1866.

The croquet historian Arthur Lillie noted Whitmore's success in 'transforming the game from the silliest of open-air games to the most intellectual one'.

He had a marked tendency to tell others what to do and even told his sister Louisa how to improve her complexion, when to wash her face and how to brush her hair.

There is your history lesson for today.