Henryk Jordan

Henryk Jordan (23 July 1842, Przemyśl – 16 May 1907, Kraków), was a Polish philanthropist, physician and pioneer of physical education in Poland. A professor of obstetrics from 1895 at Kraków's Jagiellonian University, Jordan became best known for organizing children’s playgrounds, called "Jordan’s Gardens" after him.

Henryk Jordan was born into an impoverished noble szlachta family from the village of Zakliczyn. His father, Bonifacy Jordan, gave private lessons. His mother, Salomea Wędrychowska, was a homemaker.

Jordan received his high-school education in Tarnopol and Tarnów. In 1861, however, he took part in pro-Polish demonstrations for which he was threatened with expulsion from school. In 1862 he moved to Trieste and a year later passed his high-school examinations, in Italian, with honors.

Jordan began his university studies in Vienna, and from 1863 continued them at Kraków's Jagiellonian University. He passed his science examinations in 1867 but did not receive his master's degree due to pneumonia. He went to Berlin and from there to New York City. While there, Jordan for the first time encountered the "Swedish school of gymnastics" for girls and young women, which became an area of interest for him.

While in the United States, Jordan began his medical practice and also opened a school for midwives. After returning to Europe, he continued to work first in England, then in Germany. Back in Kraków, Jordan took on a number of social functions. From 1895 to 1901 he was a Member of Parliament representing the city at the Polish Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria. In addition, Jordan presided over the Kraków Gynecological Society, as well as the Society of Medical Doctors, and the Association of Polish Teachers of Higher Education (a precursor to Polish Teachers' Union). Thanks to his efforts, physical education classes were introduced as compulsory into all Polish schools.

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