Pierre Bovet was born on 5 June 1878 in Grandchamp, Switzerland. He studied in Neuchâtel and Geneva and received his doctorate degree in 1902. From 1903-1912, Bovet taught philosophy in Neuchâtel. In 1920, he became professor of Educational sciences and experimental pedagogy at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Geneva. In 1913, he was called to Geneva by Edouard Claparède to direct the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute.
Bovet is seen as a significant figure in the international movement of the League for the New Education. Besides numerous articles, he has published 'The fighting instinct' (1917) and 'The religious sense and child psychology' (1925). Pierre Bovet played an important role in the development of education and is one of the founders of the International Bureau of Education. He became the Director in 1925 and held this post until 1929.
