Godefroy de Blonay

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Godefroy de Blonay

Godefroy de Blonay (born July 25, 1869 in Niederschönthal, Füllinsdorf municipality , Canton Basel-Landschaft ; † February 14, 1937 in Biskra , French Algeria ) was a Swiss Indologist and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

He was the son of Gustave Louis de Blonay, owner of Grandson Castle . After Blonay in Paris one of Egyptology had completed -Studies, he moved to Indian studies and dealt with Indian languages and civilizations. From 1911 to 1929 he worked as a private lecturer at the University of Neuchâtel . He was also president of the Société d'histoire de la Suisse romande from 1921 to 1937 .

In 1899, Blonay was the first representative of Switzerland in the IOC, of ​​which he was a member until his death. He was considered a close confidante of the IOC President Pierre de Coubertin . In 1912 he attended the Olympic Games in Stockholm . He was so enthusiastic about their perfect organization that a little later he initiated the establishment of the Swiss Olympic Committee (SOC) in order to better coordinate future Swiss participations. He was able to involve all the important sports associations and served as the first president of the SOC from 1912 to 1915.

In 1916, Pierre de Coubertin joined the French army during the First World War . Godefroy de Blonay, who had been the treasurer of the IOC from 1909 (until 1923), then took over the temporary chairmanship of the IOC and headed the organization until 1919. He was then de facto president, as Coubertin had largely withdrawn. In 1925 Blonay was officially elected Vice President of the IOC, which he remained until the end of his life after several re-elections. In 1925 Blonay had actually run for president, but he lost significantly to Coubertin's favorite, the Belgian Henri de Baillet-Latour .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fritz Pieth: Sport in Switzerland: his way into the present. Walter, Olten 1979.
  2. ^ Arnd Krüger : Neo-Olympism between nationalism and internationalism. In: Horst Ueberhorst (Hrsg.): Geschichte der Leibesübungen , Vol. 3/1, Bartels & Wernitz, Berlin 1980, pp. 522-568
personal data
SURNAME Blonay, Godefroy de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss Indologist; Member of the International Olympic Committee
DATE OF BIRTH July 25, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Niederschönthal, municipality of Füllinsdorf
DATE OF DEATH February 14, 1937
Place of death Biskra