Edward M. Hartwell and physical training at the Johns Hopkins University, 1879-1890.

In one of the many excellent biographical essays which appear in Innovators and Institutions in Physical Education, Ellen Gerber has declared: “Edward Mussey Hartwell should be considered one of the forefathers of physical education in the United States for his contribution toward defining the profession. . . . To such a task Hartwell brought an unusual insight and open-minded sensitivity, bolstered by a considerable formal education.“ Indeed, of the many individuals who were interested in the subject of “physical education” in the late 1800s, Hartwell possessed especially impressive credentials: M.D. from Cincinnati’s Miami Medical College and Ph.D. in biology from Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University. His extensive formal education was enhanced by several visits to Europe to investigate medicine and, especially, physical training. Although his formal career as a physical educator lasted less than two decades, he remained interested in and involved with matters of central importance to the field. In 1882 Hartwell was appointed Instructor in Physical Culture at The Johns Hopkins University. He resigned in December 1890 to become Director of Physical Training for the Boston Public Schools, a position which he held until 1897 when he became Secretary of Boston’s newly created Department of Municipal Statistics. He served as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education in 1891-92 and again from 1895 to 1899; the first chairman of the A.A.A.P.E. Section on History and Bibliography; and chairman of its Committee on Theory and Statistics. He also served on the Advisory Committee for Physical Education (a monthly journal published by the International Y.M.C.A. Training College at Springfield, Massachusetts), and was an official delegate to many important conferences. More comprehensive and influential reports, articles, and commentaries