FIRST Robotics was founded by Dean Kamen. If you think of the Segway in the U.S., he was the founder of the Segway. He also did the insulin pump so that people could wear it on a belt, instead of having to take injections throughout the day, and the biomechanical arm. Perhaps one of his most far-reaching notions was the fact that he wanted scientists to be the 21st century's superstars. Basically, he wanted FIRST Robotics to be like the Olympics to an athlete. FIRST Robotics would be the same type of event for somebody involved in math and science.
In 2002, FIRST began in Canada. Mark Breadner, a teacher at Woburn Collegiate, had the notion to bring the same type of program to Canada.