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Elizabeth A.Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Elin Kallio

b. 1859, Finland; d. 1927, Finland

Elin Kallio was an accomplished gymnast who advanced the sport in her native country. A gymnastics instructor for thirty-four years, she founded the first Finnish association for female gymnasts in 1876, followed by the Federation of Finnish Women Gymnasts in 1896. Kallio published extensively on the subject of gymnastics and women’s physical education. Her accomplishments were commemorated on a Finnish postal stamp in 1959, the centennial of her birth.