Leopold Tõnson (13 January 1878, in

Paldiski Paldiski is a seaside Populated places in Estonia, town in northwestern Estonia, located on the Pakri Peninsula and adjacent Pakri Islands, Pakri islands in the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. It is the administrative centre of the Lääne- ...

(or 14 January 1874, in

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. History The name ''Haapsalu'' derives from the Estonian words ' ...

) – 5 January 1935, in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n military personnel and sport personnel. He was one of the first in Estonia who started to propagate athletics, rowing and

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

. In 1909 he managed the first athletics competition in

; he himself won this competition. During the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

, he was the commander of

Kalev Infantry Battalion The Kalev Infantry Battalion () is an infantry battalion of the Estonian Land Forces. It is a part of the 1st Infantry Brigade (Estonia), 1st Infantry Brigade and its primary task is to train conscription-based mechanized infantry units. The batt ...

. From 1911 to 1913, 1918 to 1919, 1922 and 1924 to 1928 he was the head of Estonian Sports Association Kalev. Awards: * 1931:

Order of the Cross of the Eagle The Order of the Cross of the Eagle (; ) was instituted in 1928 by the Estonian Defence League to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Estonian independence. It was adopted as a state order in 1936. The Order of the Cross of the Eagle is bestowe ...

, III class.

References

1870s births 1935 deaths Year of birth uncertain Estonian people in sports Estonian bandy players Estonian male rowers Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence People from Paldiski {{Estonia-sport-bio-stub