Demetrios Vikelas | |
|---|---|
| Δημήτριος Βικέλας | |
 | |
| 1st President of the International Olympic Committee | |
| In office 1894–1896 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Pierre de Coubertin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 February 1835 Ermoupoli, Greece |
| Died | 20 July 1908 (aged 73) Athens, Greece |
| Spouse |
Kalliope Geralopoulou
(m. 1866) |
| Occupation |
|
Demetrios Vikelas (also written as Demetrius Bikelas; Greek: Δημήτριος Βικέλας; 15 February 1835[1] – 20 July 1908) was a Greek businessman and writer; he was the co-founder and first president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), from 1894 to 1896.[2]
After a childhood spent in Greece and Istanbul, he found fortune in London, where he married. He then moved to Paris, on account of his wife. Abandoning business, he dedicated himself to literature and history, and published numerous novels, short stories and essays, which earned him a distinguished reputation.
Because of his reputation and the fact that he lived in Paris, he was chosen to represent Greece in a congress called by Pierre de Coubertin in June 1894, which decided to re-establish the Olympic Games and to organise them in Athens in 1896, designating Vikelas to preside over the organisation committee. After the Games were over, he stepped down, remaining in Athens until his death in 1908.
- ^ Some sources use the date 1832 (Llewellyn Smith, Olympics in Athens., 84)
- ^ Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberly D.; Pelle, Kimberly D. (1996). Historical Dictionary of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-313-28477-9.
Demetrios Vikelas ... was the first president of the IOC. The creation of the IOC and his election as president in 1894 constitute the beginning of the modern Olympic movement.