Historical perspective about Britain is sometimes improved when it comes from a non-British source. And so it is with an article about our involvement with the Olympic Games.
The Smithsonian, an American monthly magazine that chronicles the arts, history, sciences and popular culture of the times, has an intriguing article on the history of the Olympic Games and Britain’s involvement in its modern creation.
The article - The Little-Known History of How the Modern Olympics Got Their Start – credits Britain as the real founder of the modern Olympic Games, referencing the contribution of Dr. William Penny Brookes and the Olympic Games in Much Wenlock in Shropshire.
I leave it to you to read the article, and to learn about the inspiring story of William Fiske, an American Olympian, who has a memorial tablet in St Paul’s Cathedral.
A small surge of pride, and humility, coursed through me on reading the article.
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