Baron van Tuyll van Serooskerken was involved in many sporting organizations, including becoming President of the Netherlands Hunting Society in 1875 when he was only 24. He was from the Van Tuyll family, a noble Dutch family tracing its heritage to the 15th century, with van Serooskerken added later, although the exact derivation of the family’s noble origins is unclear. He became an IOC Member in 1898 and helped organize the 1907 IOC Session at The Hague. In 1908 he became the first President of the Netherlands Association for Physical Education but resigned shortly thereafter, unhappy with its organization. In September 1912 the Baron established the Netherlands Olympic Committee and served as its first President until his death in 1924. After World War I he was instrumental in the Netherlands efforts to host an Olympics, which occurred in 1928, although Baron van Tuyll van Serooskerken did not live to see that.
Netherlands