Avery Brundage (September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American athlete, sports officia and art collector. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Brundage studied civil engineering at he University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating in 1909. A few years later, he founded the Avery Brundage Company, which was active in the building business around Chicago until 1947. Avery Brundage was an all-around athlete, competing in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm in the pentathlon and decathlon events, finishing 6th and 16th respectively, well behind his teammate Jim Thorpe. He also won the US national all-around title in 1914, 1916 and 1918. After retiring from active competition, he became interested in the administrative side of sport, occupying the posts of President of the Amateur Athletics Union of the United States (seven terms of office), President of the United States Olympic Committee for twenty-five years (1929-1953), President of the Pan-American Games Association (PASO), etc. As USOC president, Brundage rejected any proposals to boycott the 1936 Summer Olympics to be held in the capital of Nazi Germany, despite the exclusion of German Jews by the policies of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. After becoming a member of the IOC in 1936, and Vice-President in 1945, in 1952 he was elected President and watched over the destiny of the Olympic Movement until 1972, becoming Life Honorary President from 1972 to 1975. A great advocate of amateurism, he was the author of many articles on amateur sport and the Olympic Movement. He died on 8 May 1975, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. His personal papers are located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Archives.