GEDCOM Note

Friedrich was a German nationalist educator and the father of Gymnastics. In 1811, as an anti-Napoleonic move, he organized group outdoor exercises to strengthen German youth and to raise national morale. The movement emphasized the German folk tradition, and it spread rapidly. Jahn introduced new gymnastic apparatuses such as the horizontal bar, the side horse, the balance beam, and the parallel bars. After the fall of Napoleon, Jahn's movement was suppressed, and he was arrested by the reactionary government. Later released, he was given an Iron Cross in 1840 and elected to the revolutionary German Parliament of 1848. Other notes: In the late 1700's he developed the side bar, the horizontal bar, the parallel bars, the balance beam, and jumping events. He, more than anyone else, is considered the "father of modern gymnastics."The opening (1811) of Jahn's school in Berlin, to promote his version of the sport, was followed by the formation of many clubs in Europe and later England.Clubs were formed as Turnverein and Sokol groups, and gymnasts were often referred to as "turners." ( A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HIS IMPRISONMENT) On July 13th or 14th at night in 1819 he was arrested and taken to Spandau Fortress ( Then Kustrin) and released May 22, 1820, yet was made to in in the Fortress town of Kolberg subject to the commandant's control. While in prison, 2 of his 3 children died. Arnold was the survivor. __________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica 11th Edition Vol. ITA-KYS published in 1910 by the Cambridge University Press. This article was unable to copy due to the age of the book. Kellee Rohr hand copied this article found at the Newberry Library 11-20-1998

Jahn, Friedrich Ludwig (1778 - 1852) German pedagogue and patriot, commonly called Turnvater ("Father of Gymnastics"), was born in Lanz on the 11th of August 1778. He studied theology and philology from 1796 to 1802 at Halle Göttingen and Griefswald. After Jenna, he joined Prussian army in 1809 he went to Berlin, where he became a teacher at the gymnasium zum Grauen as well as the Plamann School. Brooding upon the humiliation of his native land by Napoleon, he conceived the idea of restoring the spirits of his countrymen by the development of their physical and moral powers through the practice of gymnastics. The first Turnplatz, or open-air gymnasium, was opened by him at Berlin in 1811, and the movement spread rapidly, the young gymnasts being taught to regard themselves as members of a kind of gild for the emancipation of their fatherland. This patriotic spirit was nourished in no small degree by the writings of Jahn. Early in 1813 he took an active part at Breslau in the formation of the famous corps of Lützow, a battalion of which he commanded, though during the same period he was often employed in secret service. After the war he returned to Berlin, where he was appointed State Teacher of Gymnastics. As such he was a leader in the formation of the Student Bruschenschaft (patriotic fraternities) in Jenna. A man of democratic nature, rugged, honest, eccentric and outspoken, Jahn often came into collision with the reactionary spirit of the time, and this conflict resulted in 1819 in the closing of the Turnplatz and the arrest of Jahn himself. Kept in semi-confinement at the fortress of Kolberg until 1824, he was then sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years but this sentence was reversed in 1825, though he was forbidden to live with in 10 miles of Berlin. He therefore took up his residence at Freyburg on der Unstrut, where he remained until his death, with the exception of a short period in 1828, where he was exiled to Cölleda on a charge of sedition. In 1840 he was decorated by the Prussian government with the Iron Cross for bravery in the wars against Napoleon. In the spring of 1848 he was elected by the district of Naumburg to the German National Parliament. Jahn died on the 15th of October 1852 in Freyburg, where a monument was erected in his honor in 1859. __________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

The selection below is from a program issued in St. Louis, MS in 1913 for the dedication of a monument to Jahn. View scrapbook for photos.

UNVEILING AND DEDICATION

J A H N M O N U M E N T

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11th, 1913

(graphic of Jahn is in this location)

FRIEDRICH LUDWIG JAHN Born in German, August 11th, 1778. Died October 15th, 1852 ______________________ A German patriot and teacher, opened in May 1811 the first playground in the Hasenheide near Berlin. Prompted by patriotic motives to instill into the youth a sublime national spirit and to endow their bodies with physical strength and endurance for national defense, he created a new system of physical education and became the father of gymnastic fields and playgrounds the world over. His work has encircled the globe - a blessing to all civilized nations. _______________________ PROGRAM 1. Overture . . . . . Falkenheiner's Orchestra 2. Unveiling of Monument by Miss Marie Stifel 3. Presenting of Monument by Mr. Otto F. Stifel, Chairman of Jahn Monument Committee to the Mayor of the City, Hon. Hy. W. Kiel 4. Singing by Scholars of the German Saturday School under the Leadership of Prof. Ernst Krohn 5. Address by Mr. Theo. Stempfel, President of the North American Gymnastic Union 6. Song by United Singers of St. Louis 7. Address by Mr. J. S. Collins, Assistant Superintendent of Public Schools 8. Homage to Turnvater Jahn 9. Address by Mr. Otto Kallmeyer, President of the St. Louis District of the North American Gymnastic Union 10.Song by the Scholars of the German Saturday Schools 11.Star Spangled Banner, Sung By All _________________________

This Program will be preceded by a parade of the members of all the Turner Societies and Students of the High Schools Mr. J. G. GUNDLACH, Marshal _________________________ Immediately after the Parade a Running Race of Active Turners of the various Societies will be started from Grand Ave. to the Monument. The winner will decorate the Monument with a Wreath.

__________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ [ERNIE'S FAMILY TREE2.FTW]

[My Family.FTW]

Friedrich was a German nationalist educator and the father of Gymnastics. In 1811, as an anti-Napoleonic move, he organized group outdoor exercises to strengthen German youth and to raise national morale. The movement emphasized the German folk tradition, and it spread rapidly. Jahn introduced new gymnastic apparatuses such as the horizontal bar, the side horse, the balance beam, and the parallel bars. After the fall of Napoleon, Jahn's movement was suppressed, and he was arrested by the reactionary government. Later released, he was given an Iron Cross in 1840 and elected to the revolutionary German Parliament of 1848. Other notes: In the late 1700's he developed the side bar, the horizontal bar, the parallel bars, the balance beam, and jumping events. He, more than anyone else, is considered the "father of modern gymnastics."The opening (1811) of Jahn's school in Berlin, to promote his version of the sport, was followed by the formation of many clubs in Europe and later England.Clubs were formed as Turnverein and Sokol groups, and gymnasts were often referred to as "turners." ( A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HIS IMPRISONMENT) On July 13th or 14th at night in 1819 he was arrested and taken to Spandau Fortress ( Then Kustrin) and released May 22, 1820, yet was made to in in the Fortress town of Kolberg subject to the commandant's control. While in prison, 2 of his 3 children died. Arnold was the survivor. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica 11th Edition Vol. ITA-KYS published in 1910 by the Cambridge University Press. This article was unable to copy due to the age of the book. Kellee Rohr hand copied this article found at the Newberry Library 11-20-1998

Jahn, Friedrich Ludwig (1778 - 1852) German pedagogue and patriot, commonly called Turnvater ("Father of Gymnastics"), was born in Lanz on the 11th of August 1778. He studied theology and philology from 1796 to 1802 at Halle Göttingen and Griefswald. After Jenna, he joined Prussian army in 1809 he went to Berlin, where he became a teacher at the gymnasium zum Grauen as well as the Plamann School. Brooding upon the humiliation of his native land by Napoleon, he conceived the idea of restoring the spirits of his countrymen by the development of their physical and moral powers through the practice of gymnastics. The first Turnplatz, or open-air gymnasium, was opened by him at Berlin in 1811, and the movement spread rapidly, the young gymnasts being taught to regard themselves as members of a kind of gild for the emancipation of their fatherland. This patriotic spirit was nourished in no small degree by the writings of Jahn. Early in 1813 he took an active part at Breslau in the formation of the famous corps of Lützow, a battalion of which he commanded, though during the same period he was often employed in secret service. After the war he returned to Berlin, where he was appointed State Teacher of Gymnastics. As such he was a leader in the formation of the Student Bruschenschaft (patriotic fraternities) in Jenna. A man of democratic nature, rugged, honest, eccentric and outspoken, Jahn often came into collision with the reactionary spirit of the time, and this conflict resulted in 1819 in the closing of the Turnplatz and the arrest of Jahn himself. Kept in semi-confinement at the fortress of Kolberg until 1824, he was then sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years but this sentence was reversed in 1825, though he was forbidden to live with in 10 miles of Berlin. He therefore took up his residence at Freyburg on der Unstrut, where he remained until his death, with the exception of a short period in 1828, where he was exiled to Cölleda on a charge of sedition. In 1840 he was decorated by the Prussian government with the Iron Cross for bravery in the wars against Napoleon. In the spring of 1848 he was elected by the district of Naumburg to the German National Parliament. Jahn died on the 15th of October 1852 in Freyburg, where a monument was erected in his honor in 1859. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The selection below is from a program issued in St. Louis, MS in 1913 for the dedication of a monument to Jahn. View scrapbook for photos.

UNVEILING AND DEDICATION

J A H N M O N U M E N T

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11th, 1913

(graphic of Jahn is in this location)

FRIEDRICH LUDWIG JAHN Born in Germany, August 11th, 1778. Died October 15th, 1852 ______________________ A German patriot and teacher, opened in May 1811 the first playground in the Hasenheide near Berlin. Prompted by patriotic motives to instill into the youth a sublime national spirit and to endow their bodies with physical strength and endurance for national defense, he created a new system of physical education and became the father of gymnastic fields and playgrounds the world over. His work has encircled the globe - a blessing to all civilized nations. _______________________ PROGRAM 1. Overture . . . . . Falkenheiner's Orchestra 2. Unveiling of Monument by Miss Marie Stifel 3. Presenting of Monument by Mr. Otto F. Stifel, Chairman of Jahn Monument Committee to the Mayor of the City, Hon. Hy. W. Kiel 4. Singing by Scholars of the German Saturday School under the Leadership of Prof. Ernst Krohn 5. Address by Mr. Theo. Stempfel, President of the North American Gymnastic Union 6. Song by United Singers of St. Louis 7. Address by Mr. J. S. Collins, Assistant Superintendent of Public Schools 8. Homage to Turnvater Jahn 9. Address by Mr. Otto Kallmeyer, President of the St. Louis District of the North American Gymnastic Union 10.Song by the Scholars of the German Saturday Schools 11.Star Spangled Banner, Sung By All _________________________

This Program will be preceded by a parade of the members of all the Turner Societies and Students of the High Schools Mr. J. G. GUNDLACH, Marshal _________________________ Immediately after the Parade a Running Race of Active Turners of the various Societies will be started from Grand Ave. to the Monument. The winner will decorate the Monument with a Wreath.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________