Friedrich Ludwig Jahn

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778 to 1852) was a German patriot and Berlin high school teacher who founded the German gymnastics movement. Active in efforts to free Germany from Napoleonic rule, he organized the Turnverein, a gymnastic association meant to build strength and fellowship among young people of all classes, and the gymnastic groups he fostered became centers for nationalism and for the movement to unify Germany. He served in the war against Napoleon from 1813 to 1815 and continued his work until his political agitation led to his imprisonment between 1819 and 1825. He was also influential in the organization of the Burschenschaft movement, which promoted nationalistic ideals among German university students, and he was a delegate to the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848. As an educator he is remembered for turning physical training into a civic and school-based movement.