Who coined the term “calisthenics”?

[jesusloverr]

[The Etymology and Origins of the Word Calisthenics] According to Wikipedia, the etymology of “calisthenics” comes from:

the ancient Greek words kállos (κάλλος), which means "beautiful" (to emphasize the aesthetic pleasure that derives from the perfection of the human body), and sthenos (σθένος), meaning "strength" (great mental strength, courage, strength, and determination).

But as far as I can see there aren’t any details on where the term was originally coined, and who came up with it. This is purely for the sake of curiosity.

Does anyone in this community know?

Edit: some more digging and I’ve found that the word has been in use since at least the 1800s (according to Google Ngrams , but looking at the content from that period, it referred to more synchronised physical movements, rather than gymnastics related exercise.

The earliest book mentioning Calisthenics on Google Books is from 1856, titled: Physiology and Calisthenics for Schools and Families by Catherine E. Beecher. In it, Beecher describes Calisthenics as:

a course of exercises designed to promote health, and thus secure beauty and strength.

She compares it with gymnastics, explaining that gymnastics is ”more severe...while they require apparatus and a room set for the purpose.”, unlike Calisthenics which ”excludes all those severe exercises” and requires zero apparatus.

• @dizstiguy mentioned a French book from 1828 titled Calisthénie; ou, Gymnastique des jeunes filles. Traité élémentaire des différens exercices. (author?)

• @vladimirsurguy-Judgment25 shared a goldmine of information (see their post below for more details):

The French Wikipedia page on calisthénie mentions Pehr Henrik Ling as starting the Swedish drill phenomenon, but credits Catharine Beecher for spreading both the word and the activity /calisthenics/ across American schools...It looks like Ling coined the concept but not the term. Article here

I found this other article describing the variety of works available at the time for physical education, gymnastics, and calisthenics. And it mentions 2 books published in 1827: A Treatise on calisthenic excercises arranged for the private tuition of ladies by Signor Voarino; and The Elements of Gymnastics, for Boys, and of Calisthenics, for Young Ladies by Gustavus Hamilton

 

[psychosarah]

@jesusloverr Here's another layer to it.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/calisthenics

 

[jesusloverr]

@psychosarah Some great extra info! Kind of matches what I found on Google Ngrams too (edited my post)

 

[ladyel]

@jesusloverr It was ME.

 

[damascusroad]

@ladyel

 

[dawn16]

@jesusloverr The French Wikipedia page on calisthénie mentions Pehr Henrik Ling as starting the Swedish drill phenomenon, but credits Catharine Beecher for spreading both the word and the activity /calisthenics/ across American schools.

In attempting to confirm or deny that I found this article. https://excelsiorgroup.co.uk/histor...s/#tmup=/p/3368599-excelsior-athletic-develo/

Second sentence of the second paragraph of the section "Swedish Gymnastics and Swedish PT":
Amongst other things, Ling is credited with inventing Calisthenics (derived from the Greek words Kalos and Sthenos: Beauty and Strength) and several pieces of equipment including wall bars, beams and the vaulting box.

It looks like Ling coined the concept but not the term.

I did find the French book and on pages ix and x of the second edition (1830) it specifically states the authors are using calisthénie to describe gymnastics for girls because the recent gymnastics book published in England used that title for the section for girls. It also states that it was at the time of writing the only book outlining gymnastics for girls.

I found this other article describing the variety of works available at the time for physical education, gymnastics, and calisthenics. https://blogs.princeton.edu/cotsen/...ibute-to-all-the-strong-bodies-in-the-stacks/

And it mentions 2 books published in 1827:
A Treatise on calisthenic excercises arranged for the private tuition of ladies by Signor Voarino; and
The Elements of Gymnastics, for Boys, and of Calisthenics, for Young Ladies by Gustavus Hamilton

Presumably the one available English book when the French book was being written would have been neither of these, but a book predating it.

The 1804 English translation of Guts Muth does not mention girls or calisthenics at all. And searching for Clias did not generate any useful leads.

In 1824 at the Boston High School for Girls, the founder William B. Fowle was teaching girls gymnastics but calling it "hygienic exercises" because gymnastics was seen as heavy exertion that was considered inappropriate for girls and women at the time. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/43608920)

This narrows the time frame significantly, as Fowle would have been aware of most influential English books regarding physical education of girls published prior to his 1826 article in the American Journal of Education. But he did not use the word calisthenics, so allowing a reasonable transit time for ideas across the Atlantic, at some point between approximately 1824 and the end of 1826 in England, someone involved in the education of girls or a strong proponent for gymnastics-for-all began to call girls' gymnastics calisthenics.

That's the whole hour I had available to waste. It's a lot of information to have and still have virtually no idea who it was that actually started using the word.

I would put money on Phokion Heinrich Clias though. He lived in England at the time and two people who alleged they worked with him both wrote books using the word calisthenics in the title.

 

[jesusloverr]

@dawn16 Amazing work! I’ll try summarise and add these to my original post.

 

[joshuawithmartin]

@jesusloverr Its greek, as far as I knew it was common to exercise with your body weight in the classic greek period.

 

[solaslove]

@jesusloverr The lesser known Greek philosopher-turned-strongman Calisthenius (probably).

 

[jesusloverr]

@solaslove Can’t tell if you’re pulling everyone’s leg or not...either way, I’ll bite.

I googled your “Calisthenius” but couldn’t find anything. I did, however, find a Greek historian called “Callisthenes” who accompanied Alexander the Great on his Asian expedition. Wiki article here. Problem is he has almost nothing to do with exercise, at least from the info on his wiki page. So a dead end me thinks.