Luther Halsey Gulick Jr. (1865–1918) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 explorat ...

instructor, international

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

official, and founder with his wife of the Camp Fire Girls, an international youth organization now known as

Camp Fire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...

Life

Gulick was born December 4, 1865 in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

. 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 (March 12, 1796 – December 8, 1877) was a missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii and Japan. His descendants carried on the tradition of missionary work, and included several scientists. Life Peter Johnson Gulick was born Marc ...

(1796–1877) was an even earlier missionary. He married Charlotte "Lottie" Emily Vetter of

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of En ...

in 1887. He studied at

Oberlin Academy Oberlin Academy Preparatory School, originally Oberlin Institute and then Preparatory Department of Oberlin College, was a private preparatory school in Oberlin, Ohio which operated from 1833 until 1916. It opened as Oberlin Institute which bec ...

(a preparatory department of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

) 1880–1882 and 1883–1886 and at the Sargent Normal School for physical training (now the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

college of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences) He graduated from the medical school of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1889. Gulick was founding superintendent of the

department of the International YMCA Training School, now

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 ...

, in Springfield,

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, from 1887-1900. He designed a triangle logo—Spirit, Mind, & Body—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 persuaded a young instructor named

James Naismith James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United States, he wrote ...

, a teacher at the school, to create an indoor game that could be played during the off-season. In response, Naismith invented and popularized

. Gulick worked with Naismith to spread the sport, chairing the Basketball Committee of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based 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. It h ...

(1895–1905) and representing the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

during the

1908 Olympic Games The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

. For his efforts to increase the popularity of basketball and of

physical fitness Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical ...

in general, Gulick was inducted into the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

as a contributor in 1959. He was principal of the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...

High School from 1900 to 1903. From 1903 to 1908, he headed physical training in the public schools of

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 from 1908 to 1913 directed the department of child hygiene at the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her recently deceased husband, rai ...

. 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 The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 milli ...

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 name changed to Camp Fire USA as it accepted boys and girls and in 2012 it was renamed

. The Gulicks helped create and expand the

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

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 Camp Timanous is a historic boys' summer camp in Raymond, Maine, United States. It offers a "traditional" Gary Paul Nabhan (1995)''The Geography of Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places'' Beacon Press, p. 123 program of land and water activitie ...

, a boys'

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

and Camp Wohelo, a girl's summer camp, located near Raymond,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. His older brother

Sidney Gulick Sidney Lewis Gulick (April 10, 1860 – December 20, 1945) 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 Gulick was bo ...

(1860–1945) was a missionary to Japan. Sidney's son (Luther Gulick Jr.'s nephew), also named

Luther Halsey Gulick Luther Halsey Gulick (1892–1993) was an American political scientist, Eaton Professor of Municipal Science and Administration at Columbia University, and Director of its Institute of Public Administration, known as an expert on public administr ...

(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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Gulick died August 13, 1918 at his camp in Casco, Maine. He had just returned from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

inspecting troops of the US forces in World War I. Gulick, together with his wife Charlotte, are honored with a bronze medallion on the Extra Mile National Monument.

Family tree

Honors and Awards

* Honorary Fellow in Memoriam, National Academy of Kinesiology

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 Ayres Leonard Porter Ayres (September 15, 1879 – October 29, 1946) was an American statistician. He played a central role in developing and analyzing large-scale statistical projects, especially for the Russell Sage Foundation. His best-known work de ...

(1908, 1913)
''Health by Muscular Gymnastics''
(1916)

References

External links

"Luther Halsey Gulick, was an expert and prolific writer on physical education, folk dance education and recreation. In this article Thomas Winter examines his contribution and his work with the YMCA, Campfire Girls and other organizations."

Dr Luther Halsey Gulick Jr. at Find A Grave
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulick, Luther American science writers Physicians from New York City 1865 births 1918 deaths New York University Grossman School of Medicine alumni Springfield College (Massachusetts) Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Hawaii Physicians from Hawaii 19th-century American physicians 20th-century American physicians Educators from New York City YMCA leaders Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Sargent College) alumni