Phokion Heinrich Clias
Phocion Heinrich CLIAs (* 1782 in Boston , † 4. November 1854 in Coppet ) was a Swiss gymnast and sports - pedagogue . Together with Johannes Niggeler and Adolf Spieß he is one of the founders of physical education in Switzerland.
Life
Clias was born as the second son of a Nidwalden merchant and officer in the American War of Independence . After the mother's death, the father sent him and his older brother to an educational institute in Groningen , the Netherlands . Clias, who did not like institutional life, quickly left Groningen to travel. After numerous stations, he married and became a citizen in Aarberg , Switzerland , in the immediate vicinity of Bern .
He gave his first gymnastics lessons in Holland and Germany . From 1810 he worked as a gymnastics teacher in Gottstatt near Biel , then at the grammar school and at the orphanage in Bern and at the Fellenberg Institute in Hofwil . He was enthusiastic about gymnastics and gymnastics. His first book, The Beginnings of Gymnastics or the Art of Gymnastics , was published as early as 1816 , the purpose of which was to inform the authorities and the population of Bern about the value of gymnastics and to win them over to it. The Patriotic Gymnastics Community , founded in 1816 , which later became the Academic Gymnastics Association Rhenania Bern, performed under his direction . The management of the Bern Academy , initially rather skeptical, gradually began to enthusiastically encourage the exercises. So on April 10, 1818, Clias was appointed director of gymnastic exercises . In 1821 he founded a swimming and bathing establishment in Marzili, Bern, and in the same year was appointed to the royal military and seaman's school in England . Clias, who was the main director of gymnastics at the military schools at the English court from 1823 to 1829 , kept returning to Bern despite several trips abroad, especially to France in the 1840s . He campaigned for gymnastics in schools and fought all his life for the right of girls to take gymnastics lessons.
1832–35 he was a member of the Bernese Grand Council . From 1848 he finally lived in Bern again. He died at the age of 72 from the long-term effects of an accident.
Publications (selection)
- The beginnings of gymnastics or gymnastics. Bern 1816.
- Gymnastique élémentaire, ou cours analytique et gradué d'exercices propres à développer et à fortifier l'organization humaine. Paris 1819.
- An elementary course of gymnastic exercises, intended to develope and improve the physical powers of man with ... a new and complete treatise on the art of swimming. London 1825.
- Kalisthenia or exercises for the beauty and strength of girls. Bern 1829.
literature
- Hans Heinrich Vögeli: The physical exercises. Mainly to Clias. Zurich 1843. ( as PDF on Commons )
- Alfred Farner: Festschrift for the centenary of the gymnastics club Rhenania Bern, 9th and 10th December 1916. Liestal 1918, p. 8 ff.
- Fritz K. Mathys: Beginnings of gymnastics in Switzerland, on the 100th anniversary of Phokion Heinrich Clias' death. Zurich 1954.
- Arturo Hotz : First academic physical educator. On the 150th anniversary of the death of gymnastics pioneer Phokion Heinrich Clias. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of November 13, 2004.
Web links
- Thomas Gmür: Clias, Phokion Heinrich. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ https://www.vsao-journal.ch/de/hoeher-schneller-weiter-732.html
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Clias, Phokion Heinrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss gymnast |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1782 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Boston |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 4, 1854 |
| Place of death | Coppet |