George P. Nissen was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 gymnast

Gymnast

Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...

 and inventor who developed the modern trampoline

Trampoline

A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes....

 and made trampolining

Trampolining

Trampolining is a competitive Olympic sport in which gymnasts perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. These can include simple jumps in the pike, tuck or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward or backward somersaults and twists....

 a worldwide sport.
Born in Blairstown, Iowa

Blairstown, Iowa

Blairstown is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 682 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Blairstown is located at ....

, Nissen became a keen gymnast in high school and won three NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 gymnastics championships while a student at the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

. Nissen went to high school at Washington High School

Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

Washington High School is a public high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa-The First Washington High School:Construction began on the first Washington in 1855 on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Fifth Street S.E. It was a three-story brick building with a white belfry, and it was the largest public school...

 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...

. Nissen was also an initiated member of the Pi kappa Alpha fraternity while he was in school. He had seen circus trapeze artists use their safety nets as an elastic bed to rebound and perform additional tricks.