Josephine Langworthy Rathbone (June 25, 1899 – July 3, 1989) was an American physiologist whose research and work involved

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

and relaxation. She taught at

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

from 1930 to 1958, and was a founding member of the

American College of Sports Medicine The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a sports medicine and exercise science membership organization. Founded in 1954, ACSM holds conferences, publishes books and journals, and offers certific ...

(ACSM).

Early life

Josephine Langworthy Rathbone was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and raised in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, the daughter of Henry Bailey Rathbone and Floy Pearl Langworthy Rathbone. As a child, she published ''The Mardean Review,'' a neighborhood newsletter, with her younger brother. She attended

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, where she survived the

1918 Influenza pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, and studied psychology with

Eleanor Gamble Eleanor Acheson McCulloch Gamble (March 2, 1868 – August 30, 1933) was an influential American psychologist from the late 19th century through the early 20th century. Gamble published most of her work on audition and memory influenced by Georg ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in zoology in 1921, a teaching certificate in 1922, and a master's degree in 1923. In 1936 she earned one of the first doctoral degrees granted in

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Her doctoral thesis was titled ''Residual neuromuscular hypertension: implications for education''.

Career

Academic career

Rathbone spent a summer at

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

, and taught at New Britain Normal School as a new college graduate. She taught hygiene and physical education and coached rowing at Wellesley for five years. She was professor of health and physical education at Teachers College, Columbia University from 1930 to 1958. She emphasized the need for American troops, athletes, and working women to learn and practice relaxation techniques for better health and performance. At Columbia she ran a relaxation clinic, treating patients for whom relaxation was prescribed but difficult, and introduced ideas from

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

into physical therapy work. She was later on the faculty at

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

in Massachusetts, from 1959 to 1980.

Writing

She wrote a popular textbook in her field, ''Corrective Physical Education'' (1934), and ''Recreation in Total Rehabilitation'' (1959, with Carol Lucas). She also wrote books for a general readership, including ''Health in Your Daily Living'' (1948, with Frank S. Rathbone) and ''Teach Yourself to Relax'' (1957). "In this chaotic world, with its widespread political and economic experimentation," she wrote in the opening lines of another book, ''Relaxation'' (1943), "the human element is threatened as never before. Its goals are indistinct and unsatisfying. It has no sense of security. It is being driven to overexertion in response to the demand for maximum production and all-out effort." She also wrote syndicated newspaper columns on relaxation in the 1950s.

Organizations

Rathbone and her husband were founders of the Federation of Sports Medicine in 1954. The organization soon changed its name to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). She was awarded the ACSM's highest honor in 1974, to mark the twentieth anniversary of its founding. She served a term as vice-president of the American Physical Therapy Association in the 1930s. She was also a fellow of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (AAHPRD), and served on national committees of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

and

American Physical Education Association The American Physical Education Association (APEA), previously known as American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education, is an American association, founded in 1885 to support gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that inclu ...

Personal life

Rathbone married fellow physiologist Peter V. Karpovich in 1945. Karpovich died in 1975.; Springfield College Archives and Special Collections. Josephine L. Rathbone died in 1989, aged 90 years. Her papers, including a memoir "My Twentieth Century", are held at Springfield College.

Works

References

External links

A video of a lecture on relaxation by Josephine Rathbone
probably from the 1970s; at the Springfield College Digital Collections.
A tribute video about Rathbone
from the American College of Sports Medicine; on YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathbone, Josephine Langworthy 1899 births 1989 deaths American physiologists Women physiologists Teachers College, Columbia University faculty Wellesley College alumni Wellesley College faculty Central Connecticut State University faculty Springfield College (Massachusetts) faculty American women academics YMCA leaders 20th-century American women 20th-century American people