Baron Pierre de Coubertin's idea of reviving the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece was admittedly the product of his personal admiration for the English public school system and its encouragement of the ideals of sportsmanship. He felt that the organization of an international festival to keep alive amateur sport would be of real benefit to the world. On June 16, 1894 a meeting of delegates from various countries was held in Paris under his chairmanship and the International Olympic Games Committee with the Baron at its head was duly brought into existence. The first Olympiad fitly took place at Athens in April 1896 in the ancient stadium which was rebuilt by the generosity of a Greek merchant and which held 45,000 people. Every European nation and, of course, the United States of America were duly represented, but curiously enough Great Britain whose institutions had been so much of an inspiration to Baron de Coubertin took but a tepid interest in the event, The fourth Olympiad held in London in association with the Franco-British Exhibition at Shepherd's Bush in 1908 gave a fillip to British enthusiasm. Twenty different nations competed at London in twenty different kinds of sport, involving more than 100 events for which a complete code of rules accepted by 2,000 athletes had been prepared. Thus had the Baron's dream acquired substance and, after the break caused by the Great War, there was no doubt of the success of his idea as a permanent institution in world athletics. At Paris in 1924 no less than 45 nations were represented. Baron de Courbetin, was for many years president of the International Olympic Committee and was eventually succeeded by Count Baillet Latour, but his memory will ever be revered by athletes the world over as that of a man who has made a fine contribution to sportsmanship and inter national comradeship. It is fitting that he should have a memorial on the site of the classical Olympiad. By his efforts the Baron was specially anxious to encourage his own countrymen to develop their interest in games. That secondary objective has been remarkably well attained for to-day France is one of the foremost exponents of sport of all kinds—a condition which did not exist when the Baron held that meeting 43 years ago.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.