Elin Kallio (23 April 1859 Helsinki, Finland – 25 December 1927, Helsinki) was a celebrated pioneering Finnish

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. She is considered the founder of the women's gymnastic movement in Finland. Kallio was educated at the Stockholm Royal Gymnastic Institute. She was a gymnastics instructor for thirty-four years at private Finnish girls schools and at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

. She founded the first Finnish association for female gymnasts in 1876 and this developed into the Federation of Finnish Women Gymnasts in 1896. Kallio wrote extensively on the subject of

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and women's physical education. In 1959, a hundred years after her birth she was commemorated on a Finnish postal stamp.

References

Famous Women on stamps
Elin Kallio Accessed February 2009
Elin Kallion Voimistelujärjestelmä − Suomalaisen Naisvoimistelun Perusta
Aino Sarje, 2008 . With English translation. * * ''"Naisvoimistelun käsikirja" ("Women's gymnastics Handbook.")'', 1901 * ''"Voimistelun käsikirja. Etupäässä naisseminaarien ja kansakoulujen tarpeeksi" (Gymnastics Handbook. Mainly of seminars for women and people of school age)'', 1909 * ''"Komentoharjoituksia" ("Command Exercises")'', 1924 1859 births 1927 deaths Finnish female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts from Helsinki Sportspeople from the Grand Duchy of Finland {{Finland-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub

References

Further reading