Demetrius Vikelas
Greek businessman and writer; president of the International Olympic Committee (1835-1908) · Greece · Writers · Died at 73
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Something wrong?A Greek businessman-turned-writer who happened to be in Paris at the right moment became the first president of the International Olympic Committee - not because he sought the role, but because geography and reputation made him the logical choice to shepherd the Games back to Athens in 1896.
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Awards
About this person
Demetrius Vikelas spent his childhood between Greece and Istanbul before making his fortune as a businessman in London, where he married. His wife's preferences brought him to Paris, and there he left commerce behind for literature, publishing novels, short stories, and essays that built him a reputation in intellectual circles. That reputation - and his Paris address - put him in the room when Pierre de Coubertin convened a congress in June 1894 to revive the ancient Olympic Games. The delegates voted to stage the first modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896 and named Vikelas to lead the newly formed International Olympic Committee. He presided over the organisation, saw the Games through, then stepped down and returned to Athens, where he lived until his death in 1908.
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