Luther Gulick (physician)
Encyclopedia
Luther Halsey Gulick, Jr. MD (1865–1918) was an American physical education
instructor, international basketball
official, and founder with his wife of the Camp Fire Girls, an international youth organization now known as Camp Fire USA
.
, Hawaiian Islands
. His father was missionary physician Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. (1828–1891) and his mother was Louisa Lewis. His paternal grandfather Peter Johnson Gulick
(1796–1877) was an even earlier missionary.
He married Charlotte "Lottie" Emily Vetter of Hanover, New Hampshire
in 1887.
He studied at Oberlin Academy (a preparatory department of Oberlin College
) 1880–1882 and 1883–1886 and at the Sargent Normal School for physical training (now the Boston University
college of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences)
He graduated from the medical school of New York University
in 1889.
Gulick was founding superintendent of the physical education
department of the International YMCA Training School, now Springfield College
, in Springfield
, Massachusetts
, from 1887-1900.
He designed a triangle logo representing the YMCA philosophy. This evolved into the block letter "Y" used in the modern YMCA logo, as well as the Springfield College seal.
Gulick directed James Naismith
, a teacher at the school, to create a winter sport to be played indoors. Naismith invented and popularized basketball
in response. Gulick worked with Naismith to spread the sport, chairing the Basketball Committee of the Amateur Athletic Union
(1895–1905) and representing the United States Olympic Committee
during the 1908 Olympic Games. For his efforts to increase the popularity of basketball and of physical fitness
in general, Gulick was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
as a contributor in 1959.
He was principal of the Pratt Institute
High School from 1900 to 1903. From 1903 to 1908, he headed physical training in the public schools of New York City
, and from 1908 to 1913 directed the department of child hygiene at the Russell Sage Foundation
. He served as president of the American Physical Education Association
in 1903-1906, of the Public School Physical Training Society in 1905-1908, and of the Camp Fire Girls after 1913.
He gave talks at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to promote his ideas for physical training in schools In 1907, Gulick was the president of the Playground Association of America, which later became the National Recreation Association and then the National Recreation and Park Association
.
With his wife, Gulick founded the Camp Fire Girls to prepare women for work outside the home. In 1975, its named changed to Camp Fire USA
as it accepted boys and girls. The Gulicks helped create and expand the Boy Scout
movement, as both the Camp Fire Girls and Boy Scouts movements helped to promote physical fitness and expand exercise opportunities for youth.
Gulick recommending the secretary of the Playground Association, James E. West
to head the new Boy Scouts of America.
Gulick also founded Camp Timanous
, a boys' summer camp
and Camp Wohelo, a girl's summer camp, located near Raymond
, Maine
.
His older brother Sidney Gulick
(1860–1945) was a missionary to Japan. Sidney's son (Luther Gulick Jr.'s nephew), also named Luther Halsey Gulick
(1892–1993), was an expert on public administration.
His sister, Frances Gulick Jewett, wrote a series of books on public health and hygiene, which were regarded as the leading publications on public sanitation for many years, and biography of their father. His other siblings included Reverend Edward Leeds Gulick and Pierre Johnson Gulick.
His sister's namesake, daughter Frances Jewett Gulick
(1891–1936) was honored for her service in World War I
.
Gulick died August 13, 1918 at his camp in Casco, Maine
. He had just returned from France
inspecting troops of the US forces in World War I.
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
instructor, international basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
official, and founder with his wife of the Camp Fire Girls, an international youth organization now known as Camp Fire USA
Camp Fire USA
Camp Fire USA, originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a nationwide American youth organization that began in 1910. The organization has been co-ed since 1975 and welcomes youth from pre-kindergarten through age 21. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in...
.
Life
Gulick was born December 4, 1865 in HonoluluHonolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. His father was missionary physician Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. (1828–1891) and his mother was Louisa Lewis. His paternal grandfather Peter Johnson Gulick
Peter Johnson Gulick
Peter Johnson Gulick was a missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii and Japan. He was patriarch of a family that also carried on the tradition of missionary work, and included several scientists.-Life:...
(1796–1877) was an even earlier missionary.
He married Charlotte "Lottie" Emily Vetter of Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
in 1887.
He studied at Oberlin Academy (a preparatory department of Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
) 1880–1882 and 1883–1886 and at the Sargent Normal School for physical training (now the Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
college of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences)
He graduated from the medical school of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1889.
Gulick was founding superintendent of the physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
department of the International YMCA Training School, now Springfield College
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private, coeducational university located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College is most famous as the site where the sport of basketball was invented...
, in Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, from 1887-1900.
He designed a triangle logo representing the YMCA philosophy. This evolved into the block letter "Y" used in the modern YMCA logo, as well as the Springfield College seal.
Gulick directed James Naismith
James Naismith
The first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops,...
, a teacher at the school, to create a winter sport to be played indoors. Naismith invented and popularized basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
in response. Gulick worked with Naismith to spread the sport, chairing the Basketball Committee of the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
(1895–1905) and representing the United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
during the 1908 Olympic Games. For his efforts to increase the popularity of basketball and of physical fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
in general, Gulick was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
as a contributor in 1959.
He was principal of the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
High School from 1900 to 1903. From 1903 to 1908, he headed physical training in the public schools of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and from 1908 to 1913 directed the department of child hygiene at the Russell Sage Foundation
Russell Sage Foundation
The Russell Sage Foundation is the principal American foundation devoted exclusively to research in the social sciences. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in New York City, the foundation is a research center, a funding source for studies by scholars at other institutions, and a key member of the...
. He served as president of the American Physical Education Association
American Physical Education Association
American Physical Education Association is an American association, founded in 1885 to support gymnastics education. The name was changed in 1903, to the American Physical Education Association...
in 1903-1906, of the Public School Physical Training Society in 1905-1908, and of the Camp Fire Girls after 1913.
He gave talks at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to promote his ideas for physical training in schools In 1907, Gulick was the president of the Playground Association of America, which later became the National Recreation Association and then the National Recreation and Park Association
National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association provides information and services to communities in the United States attempting to make them conscious of the environment around them. It supports the construction of parks and recreational facilities around the United States...
.
With his wife, Gulick founded the Camp Fire Girls to prepare women for work outside the home. In 1975, its named changed to Camp Fire USA
Camp Fire USA
Camp Fire USA, originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a nationwide American youth organization that began in 1910. The organization has been co-ed since 1975 and welcomes youth from pre-kindergarten through age 21. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in...
as it accepted boys and girls. The Gulicks helped create and expand the Boy Scout
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
movement, as both the Camp Fire Girls and Boy Scouts movements helped to promote physical fitness and expand exercise opportunities for youth.
Gulick recommending the secretary of the Playground Association, James E. West
James E. West (Scouting)
Dr. James E. West was a lawyer and an advocate of children's rights, who became the first professional Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America , serving from 1911–1943. Upon his retirement from the BSA, West was given the title of Chief Scout.-Personal life:His father died around the...
to head the new Boy Scouts of America.
Gulick also founded Camp Timanous
Timanous
Camp Timanous is a historic boys' summer camp in the United States. It offers a traditional program of land and water activities, aimed at developing athletically, spiritually, and mentally balanced campers.-History:...
, a boys' summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
and Camp Wohelo, a girl's summer camp, located near Raymond
Raymond, Maine
Raymond is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,299 at the 2000 census. It is a summer recreation area and is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
His older brother Sidney Gulick
Sidney Gulick
Sidney Lewis Gulick was an educator, author, and missionary who spent much of his life working to promote greater understanding and friendship between Japanese and American cultures.-Biography:...
(1860–1945) was a missionary to Japan. Sidney's son (Luther Gulick Jr.'s nephew), also named Luther Halsey Gulick
Luther Gulick (social scientist)
-Life:Luther Halsey Gulick was born January 17, 1892 in Osaka, Japan.His father was congregationalist missionary Sidney Lewis Gulick and his mother was Clara May Gulick. He shared his name with his grandfather, missionary Luther Halsey Gulick Sr. , and uncle physician Luther Halsey Gulick Jr....
(1892–1993), was an expert on public administration.
His sister, Frances Gulick Jewett, wrote a series of books on public health and hygiene, which were regarded as the leading publications on public sanitation for many years, and biography of their father. His other siblings included Reverend Edward Leeds Gulick and Pierre Johnson Gulick.
His sister's namesake, daughter Frances Jewett Gulick
Frances Gulick
Frances Jewett Gulick was an American Y.M.C.A. welfare worker who was awarded a United States Army citation for valor and courage on the field during the aerial bombardment of Varmaise, Oise, France in World War I. She was attached to the First Engineers in Europe, and was operating a canteen at...
(1891–1936) was honored for her service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Gulick died August 13, 1918 at his camp in Casco, Maine
Casco, Maine
Farmers found the surface of the town uneven, its hard and rocky soil "tolerably productive." Outlets of ponds, however, provided Casco with good sites for water powered mills. The town had four sawmills, four gristmills, a shook mill, a barrel stave mill, four shingle factories, a carriage factory...
. He had just returned from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
inspecting troops of the US forces in World War I.
Works
Besides editing Physical Education (1891-1896), Association Outlook (1897-1900), American Physical Education Review (1901-1903), and the Gulick Hygiene Series, he wrote:- Manual of Physical Measurements (1892)
- Physical Education by Muscular Exercise (1904)
- The Efficient Life (1907)
- Mind and Work (1908)
- The Healthful Art of Dancing (1910)
- Medical Inspection of Schools, with Leonard Porter AyresLeonard Porter AyresLeonard Porter Ayres was an American educator, soldier, and statistician.-Biography:Ayres was born at Niantic, Conn. He received his college and graduate training at Boston, Harvard, and Columbia universities....
(1908, 1913)