Anthony Benezet

Anthony Benezet, born Antoine Bénézet (January 31, 1713 – May 3, 1784), was a French-born American abolitionist and educator who was active in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the early American abolitionists, Benezet founded one of the world's first anti-slavery societies, the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage (after his death it was revived as the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery); the first public school for girls in North America; and the Negro School at Philadelphia, which operated into the nineteenth century.

Biography

Antoine Bénézet was born in Saint-Quentin, France, on 31 January 1713, to a family of Protestants, known in France as Huguenots. Because Protestants had been persecuted and suffered violent attacks since the Crown's revocation in 1685 of the Edict of Nantes, which had provided religious tolerance, his family, like many others, decided to leave France. They moved first to Rotterdam, Netherlands; then briefly to Greenwich before settling in London, England, where there was a sizeable Huguenot refugee community. In 1727 Benezet joined the Religious Society of Friends (also known as Quakers).

Olympique Lyonnais

Olympique Lyonnais (French pronunciation: ​[ɔlɛ̃pik ljɔnɛ]; commonly referred to as simply Lyon, or OL) (Euronext: OLG) is a French football club based in Lyon. It plays in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The club's most successful period has been the 21st century. The club won its first Ligue 1 championship in 2002, starting a national record-setting streak of seven successive titles. Lyon has also won a record seven Trophée des Champions, five Coupe de France titles and three Ligue 2 Championships.

Lyon has participated in the UEFA Champions League 12 times, and during the 2009–10 season, reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time after three previous quarter-final appearances. Olympique Lyonnais plays its home matches at the 40,500-seat Stade de Gerland in Lyon. In 2015/2016, their new stadium will be ready, tentatively named OL Land, in Décines-Charpieu, a suburb of Lyon. The club's home colours are white, red and blue. Lyon was a member of the G14 group of leading European football clubs and are founder members of its successor, the European Club Association.

En Avant de Guingamp

En Avant de Guingamp Côtes-d'Armor (Breton: War-raok Gwengamp; commonly referred to as EA Guingamp, EAG, or simply Guingamp) is a French association football club based in the commune of Guingamp. The club was founded in 1912 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football, having won promotion from Ligue 2 following the 2012–13 season. Guingamp plays its home matches at the Stade du Roudourou located within the city. The club's status as a professional club is atypical with the club playing in a commune of 7,280 inhabitants, with a stadium capable of holding upwards of 18,000 spectators.

However having remained amateur for a long time, playing within the regional leagues, the club got promoted 3 times under the presidency of Noël Le Graët, who took over in 1972. In 1976, Guingamp reached the Third Division (now called Championnat National), and the next season went straight into the Second Division (now called Ligue 2), where they stayed until 1993. The club adopted professional status in 1984, and in 1990 the Stade du Roudourou was opened, hosting Paris Saint-Germain in its first match. The club's first major honour was winning the Coupe de France in 2009; in the process becoming the second team to win the competition from outside Ligue 1. The team defeated Derby Breton rivals Rennes 2–1 in the final. Also, in 2014, En Avant de Guingamp beat Stade Rennais F.C. 2–0 at the Stade de France. Aside from two years of Coupe de France triumph, the club's other success was winning the 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup

Stade Malherbe Caen

Stade Malherbe Caen (French pronunciation: ​[stɑd malˈɛrb kɑ̃]; commonly referred to as SM Caen or simply Caen) is a professional French football team, playing in the city of Caen, Normandie. The club was founded on 17 November 1913 following the merger of Club Malherbe Caennais and Club Sportif Caennais. The team takes its name from Lycée Malherbe, named after François de Malherbe (1555–1628), a poet, critic and translator, who was a native of Caen.

For the longest part of its history, SM Caen remains one of the leading amateur club in France, playing upon its foundation at Stade de Venoix. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the rise of Stade Malherbe into French football hierarchy. In 1985, Stade Malherbe adopted professional status. Three seasons later, it was promoted for the first time in first division. In 1992, several months after it was narrowly saved from bankruptcy, the club ends at fifth place of Division 1 and qualifies for the UEFA Cup. In 1993, the club moved to the modern Stade Michel d'Ornano, but was relegated two years later. Despite a second division title won in 1996, SM Caen quickly fell back into the anonymity of the second division.

Paris Saint-Germain F.C.

Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (French pronunciation: ​[paʁi sɛ̃ ʒɛʁmɛ̃]), commonly referred to as PSG, is a French professional association football club based in Paris, whose first team play in the highest tier of French football, the Ligue 1. The team was formed in 1970 by the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain.

Domestically, PSG have won five Ligue 1 titles, nine Coupe de France, a record five Coupe de la Ligue, five Trophée des Champions and the Ligue 2 title once. In international club football, the Parisian side have won one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. PSG is the joint-most successful club in France and one of only two French clubs (with Olympique de Marseille) to win a major European club competition.

The Parc des Princes has been the home stadium of PSG since 1974. The Camp des Loges has served as the club's training centre since 1970. The Tournoi de Paris has been hosted by the capital club at Le Parc since 1975. PSG shares an intense rivalry with Marseille and contest the most notorious football match in France, known as Le Classique. PSG is the second-highest supported football club in France after rivals Marseille.Qatar Sports Investments became the club's sole shareholder in 2012. The takeover made PSG the richest club in France and amongst the richest in the world.