1 863 65438+1October1,Coubertin was born at No.20 Odino Street in Paris, which is his father's residence in Paris. Coubertin's father was a baron, and he was given the title of Emperor Louis XIII. He is good at religious painting and owns a lot of land and property. His mother is also of noble birth, descended from the Grand Duke of Normandy near The Hague. Coubertin's ancestors owned a castle in Mieville, Normandy, where Coubertin spent his childhood. The superior conditions at home gave him a good education and laid a solid foundation for his future career and pursuit.
He was brilliant and knowledgeable, and got three degrees. As a student, he was a sports enthusiast, who loved boxing, boating, fencing and horseback riding, which had a certain influence on his later revival of the Olympic Movement. In his time, the influence of bourgeois democratic revolution made him produce radical liberal democratic thoughts. Childhood suffered from the Franco-Prussian War, and the humiliation suffered by the French people inspired Coubertin's patriotic enthusiasm for revitalizing France. He was determined to reform education. He said: "The most important thing in modern life is education." He believes that only reforming education and strengthening teenagers' physique is the way to save the country, which ultimately determines his persistence in educational reform and even the establishment of modern Olympic movement.
Coubertin's idea of reviving the Olympic Movement was inspired by his investigation of physical education in Britain. The idea of "restoring the Olympic Games" was put forward for the first time at the fifth annual meeting of the French Federation of Sports Associations held at Sorbonne Theological Seminary in Paris. Prior to this, he also visited and studied the ancient Greek Olympic sites. At this time, his idea of reviving the Olympic movement has matured. 1894 June 15, Coubertin published the article "Restoring the Olympic Games" in Paris Review. 16 On June 24th, the International Sports Conference was held in Paris, and the International Olympic Committee was established on June 23rd. Coubertin delivered a speech on "Restoring the Olympic Games" at this historic meeting. Among them, he said: "In 1894, in Paris, a city that shares weal and woe with the whole world and can be called the nerve center of the world, we were able to gather the representatives of international sports together and unanimously vote in favor of (the relevant principles are rarely disputed) restoring the exciting concept as always since 2000. Because satisfying people is one of the most dynamic and noble natures, no matter how people evaluate it. In the Science Hall, these delegates heard an outstanding archaeologist rewrite a melody with a history of 2000 years through the continuous efforts of several generations. That night, radio waves spread the news in all directions, and ancient Greek Olympism returned to the world after centuries of silence. " In another speech, he spoke very clearly about his purpose of restoring the Olympic movement. He said: "A sound democratic system, wise and peaceful internationalism will penetrate into the future stadiums, and will maintain the belief in honor and selflessness, which will make sports a cause to promote spiritual beauty, social peace and muscle development."
When Coubertin recalled the details in his memoirs of the Olympic Games, he thought that the delegates had little objection to his proposal to restore the Olympic Games. Everyone agreed to hold it every four years, but some people advocated that children should participate, and this opinion was rejected. Regarding the venue of the 1 conference, Coubertin originally wanted to suggest Paris, but most people agreed that Athens, Greece also had the technical and financial conditions, and finally decided.
Coubertin was the president of the International Olympic Committee from 1896 to 1925. 1925 resigned as president at the 25th IOC meeting in Prague and was elected honorary president for life. He has been in office for 29 years and has experienced seven Olympic Games, the sixth of which was not held because of World War I.. He led the IOC to overcome many difficulties and made outstanding contributions. During this period, he participated in almost every Olympic Games, presided over all the sessions of the International Olympic Committee and did a lot of work.
Coubertin spent 365,438+0 years (365,438+0 ~ 62 years old) fighting for the Olympic Movement. It can be said that he devoted the most precious time in his life to this magnificent cause, overcame many unimaginable difficulties, and finally promoted the development of the Olympic Movement as an international cultural phenomenon. He also constantly struggled with many unhealthy phenomena at that time. He wrote in the famous article "A Letter to Young Athletes from All Countries" published on April 7th, 1927: "Today's world is full of great possibilities for development, but there is also dangerous moral corruption. The Olympic spirit can build a school to cultivate noble sentiments and new soul, and can also exercise physical strength and endurance, but it is necessary to strengthen the concept of honor and constantly strengthen physical exercise. This shows that Coubertin always saw the dark side of society from the perspective of educators and education, and emphasized that sports must be combined with education. It can also be seen that the Olympic movement promoted by Coubertin is centered on education.
After retiring from the International Olympic Committee, Coubertin once again struggled for the educational reform he had been pursuing all his life. He still participated in many important activities of the Olympic Games and published many articles about the Olympic Movement. His famous treatise "Memoirs of the Olympics" was completed after his retirement 193 1 year. He published a large number of works in his life, covering philosophy, history, education, sports and psychology, including 30 monographs, 50 pamphlets and 1200 articles on different topics. As early as his youth, 1888, when he was 25 years old, he gave a lecture on French and Europe in his hometown town of Bo ryback, and 1895 gave a folk lecture on contemporary history in Lefevere, covering Eastern Europe, the British Empire, North America and the Far East. Since then, he has taken historical research as his main research project. His most important historical work, World History, was completed from 1926 to 1927. This masterpiece, which consists of four volumes, was completed under the sponsorship of the French government and the World Education Alliance, and it is also the result of his long-term research and accumulation. After the publication of this book, it attracted the attention of the French education circle and became the teaching material of normal universities around the world. In this masterpiece, he predicted the future of the world with rich historical materials, profound knowledge and superhuman talent. He said: "Communism will spread in China, colonialism will end and African countries will gain independence. The world will see the Arabs become a powerful country again. " After more than half a century of changes, most of these far-sighted remarks have become a reality.
According to incomplete statistics, he published 4 1 books and articles after retirement.
Coubertin had noble sentiments and charm. He gave up the luxury of the nobility all his life and chose the road of hard struggle for reform. He devoted himself to his career until his death. In his will 1935, he explained the poverty in his later years. After his death, his wife had to sell all Coubertin's books because of difficulties in life. Therefore, some people commented that Coubertin was "born rich and died of poverty", which is true.
What is commendable is that although he was born in a noble family, he has the character of the people. He was the first person in the history of modern sports to put forward that "all sports are for the public" and tried his best to advocate his own views. At the same time, he spared no effort to develop workers' education. As an educator, athlete, historian and social activist, Coubertin's achievement is not only to restore the Olympic Movement, but also to put forward a new way accepted by most people for the development and progress of mankind, the pursuit of a better society in the future and the lofty ideals of mankind. Although the Olympism advocated by him is somewhat idealistic, it is a new concept and educational means and a teaching material for spiritual civilization construction. Practice is the only criterion to test the truth, and the development of the Olympic Movement 100 years can fully explain everything. It has become a symbol of modern civilization and an inspiring international cultural phenomenon that promotes world peace.
Coubertin had the deepest understanding of the social function of sports. In Ode to Sports, he regards sports as the embodiment of beauty, justice, courage, honor, health, progress and peace. This is the Olympic ideal that Coubertin pursued all his life.
1On September 2, 937, he and his wife were walking on the boulevard in Geneva Park when they had a sudden myocardial infarction and died suddenly while sitting on a bench at the age of 74. His ashes were buried in Lausanne, and according to his last wish, his heart was placed under the pedestal of the Olympic Monument in Olympia. Coubertin was known as "the father of modern Olympic movement" before his death. After his death, people left a place for him in the ancient arena in Athens, making him a must-see audience in every game in the Olympic arena.