The century was coming to a close with great achievements for mankind. A great industrial revolution had taken place, and modern democracy was prevailing. But this new faster pace of life, facilitated by industrialized mass production took its toll on society. A yearning to return to a romanticized and "pure" past became popular. Theories of unique nationhood and native culture were embraced. One such romantic ideal was the revival of the Olympic Games: the vision of man as a complete entity of body and soul and physical activity as a method of self and social improvement. It is not surprising that it was an educator and devout humanist, Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who brought the ideal back to life.