Friedrich Ludwig Jahn portrait

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852) was the founder of the Turner movement in Germany. He believed in the importance of complete mental and physical fitness, which could be achieved if a person were educated in both book studies and in physical exercise (called "Turnen"). Many Turners also supported the revolutions of 1848, and when these revolutions failed to bring about social change, they moved to America and set up Turnvereins there. Though Jahn was also a person who hoped to see political and civil rights improve, he believed that these changes would come to Germany gradually, so he stayed in that country until his death.

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