Jessie Hubbell Bancroft (1867–1952) was an American educator, a pioneer of

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

Ruth Evan
"Jessie H. Bancroft"
''Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation'', Volume 31, Issue 4, 1960, and a founder and a president of the American Posture League.

Biography

She was born in

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

in December 1867, and was exposed to the Delsarte System of Physical Culture while studying at Winona Normal School. During 1893–1903 she was Director of Physical Training of the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Schools and from 1904 until retirement in 1928 she was Assistant Director of Physical Education of the schools of Greater New York City. She was an author of many professional publications on posture, including her insightful 1913 book, ''The Posture of School Children'', as well as other literature on physical education. In addition to founding of the APL, she was a founder of the American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education and the only woman to serve as its secretary (1902–1903). She was the first living person to receive the Luther Halsey Gulick Award for advances in physical education (1924). She was the first woman elected to Fellow status in the National Academy of Kinesiology (formerly the American Academy of Physical Education), with a Fellow number of 8. She was also made a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. She died at

Hillcrest Hospital Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital is a comprehensive-care hospital on Mayfield Road in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Cleveland Clinic Health System. The hospital currently has 500 registered beds, and serves as a le ...

in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on November 13, 1952.

Books

* 1896 (reprinted 1903): '' School Gymnastics, Free Hand: A System of Physical Exercises for Schools'' * 1900: '' School Gymnastics with Light Apparatus'' ** 1915: '' Gimnasia escolar sin aparatos'', Spanish translation * 1909: '' Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium'' ** 1942: Revised and expanded edition, Macmillan Company * 1913: '' The Posture of School Children'' * 1916: (with William Dean Pulvermacher) '' Handbook of Athletic Games: For Players, Instructors, and Spectators, Comprising Fifteen Major Ball Games, Track and Field Athletics and Rowing Races''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Jessie Hubbell 1867 births 1952 deaths American educators Academics of physical education and sport Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science People from Winona, Minnesota Winona State University alumni