Pierre Frédy,
Baron de Coubertin, was born in Paris, France in 1863. His
family came from Normandy where he spent many of his summers
in the family Château or castle. His family wanted him to
go into the army, or be a politician, but he refused. By the
age of 24 he had already decided the aim of his life: he
would help bring back the noble spirit of France by changing
its old-fashioned education system. Coubertin, whose father
was an artist and mother a musician, was raised in wealthy
and cultured surroundings. He had always been deeply
interested in education. For him, education was the key to
the future of society, and he wanted to make France
important once more after its defeat in the war of
1870. He was a very active
sportsman and practiced the sports of boxing, fencing,
horse-riding and rowing. Coubertin as a young man Baron Pierre de Coubertin, president He was convinced that
sport was important for moral energy and he believed this
very strongly. Around this time, archaeologists were digging
up the ruins of the stadium and temples of Olympia, which
was where the original Olympic Games were held thousands of
years ago. This gave him an idea, and when he was 31, he
announced that he wanted to revive the Olympic Games. He
made this announcement in a meeting, but no one really
believed him and his statement was greeted with little
enthusiasm. Coubertin, however, was
not put off and on 23 June, 1894 he founded the
International Olympic Committee in a ceremony held at the
University of Sorbonne in Paris. Demetrius Vikelas from
Greece became the first president of the IOC. Two years
later, in 1896, the first Olympic Games of the modern era
were held in Athens. On that occasion Coubertin was elected
the second president of the IOC and he remained president
until 1925.
of the International Olympic Committee