-
Early Beginnings
Colonist from Europe observe Native Americans playing games to substitute for war. These athletic events served as models for modern games such as lacrosse. -
Religious Objections
Religious beliefs limit the participation an opportunities for Puritan settlers. Pleasurable activities were thought to lead to eternal damnation. -
PE begins to be incorperated into school curriculum.
Catherine Beecher- Director of the Hartford Female Seminary in Connecticut developed and instituted a program of physical education within the school's curriculum. -
Invention of Baseball
Baseball is created from a from the English sport of rounders. I would grow from humble origins to become "Americas pastime" for large portion of the 20th century. -
YMCA Foundation
The Young Men's Christian Association was founded in London in 1844. Luther Gilick had an large role in it's creation and served the company for over 15 years. He also designed the YMCA logo. -
First Intercollegiate Sporting Event
Yale and Harvard compete in a crew/rowing competition and this served as a model of success for subsequent events between schools. -
Edward Hitchcock
Hitchcock was named the director of health and hygiene at Amhurst College. He used anthropomorphic measurements to evaluate progress. This sets a precedent for scientific method in the physical education field. -
Foundation of the AAPE
The Association for the Advancement of Physical Education was a precursor for organizations that ultimately became AAHPERD. The AAPE showed a further shift in advancements toward scientific progress in the field. -
Invention of Basketball
Dr. James Naismith invents a game that can be played with a peach basket. Much like baseball, the growth and business potential of modern day basketball all started from humble origins. -
Thomas Denison Wood
At a speech on the International Conference on Education, Wood presented a vision for a "new physical education" Wood was at the forefront of new developments and growth in the physical education field. -
First Modern Olympics
The first modern Olympics were held in Athens. Only males were allowed to compete in 28 events. -
Clark Hetherington
Also at the forefront of changes to the physical education regime and knowledge. Hetherington spread ideas concerning four objectives. These were fitness, skill, social and mental pillars. -
First Doctorial Degrees
The Teachers College of Columbia University and the New York University offered the first doctoral degrees in physical education. -
Stock Market Crash
The stock market crash of 1929 sent the country into a spiraling depression which set back many of the infrastructural gains made in previous years. Budgets and funding were slashed across the board for physical education programs. -
Jesse Owens
Owens stood up to Hitler and Nazi Germany's ideas of the Aryan race at the 1936 Olympics. His four gold medals at the games undermined the Nazi "superior" race. -
Youth Fitness Counsil Established
President Eisenhower establishes the President's Council on Youth Fitness due to low scores on fitness tests. The importance of the nations government to take an active role promoting fitness is no small development. -
The Federation of Sports Medicine
Founded in in the mid 50's, the federation was established by 11 physicians and furthered the scientific and practical development of P.E as a science and profession. -
Charles McCloy
Advocated for "education of the physical". Tied many previous ideas together such that physical education could incorperate games and competition with scientific gains in mental and physical fitness. -
Special Olympics Founded
A direct result of the belief that individuals with disabilities would directly benefit from competition in sports. The Special Olympics provides such opportunities to this day. -
"Kinesiology" becomes the norm
The term kinesiology becomes mainstream to describe all aspects of the P.E field. The American Academy of Physical Education voted to change it's name to the American Academy of Kinesiology as the title of the discipline.
