Pierre de Coubertin

Born to French aristocracy on 1 January 1863, Pierre de Frédy studied education and history before earning a law degree from the Paris Institute of Political Studies. It was there, inside Sciences Po, that the idea landed: revive the ancient Olympic Games. He co-founded the International Olympic Committee, served as its second president, and became known as the father of the modern Games. Beyond the Olympics, he campaigned hard to bring sport into French schools, convinced that physical education belonged in the curriculum. He died on 2 September 1937, his name carried forward by a world troph…