Hartvig Nissen

Hartvig Nissen (1857 – February 4, 1924) was a Norwegian gymnast primarily active in Norway and the USA. He later pursued a career in politics.

Early life and education Nissen was born in the neighborhood of Kongshavn, near Oslo, in 1857. He was the 8th child out of 10 in his family. His father, Ole Hartvig Nissen, was the owner and principal of a small private school. Nissen graduated from high school in 1872. An eye injury suffered during a childhood snowball fight prevented him from entering military school.

Gymnastics career As a young man, Nissen joined the Merchant's Club, Singing Club and Christiania Turnforening (Gymnastics Club). He began teaching gymnastics in April 1875 and was the instructor of gymnastics in the Latin School of Drammen. He also taught at the gymnastics clubs of the cities of Drammen, Holmestrand and Kongsberg in Norway. Nissen later became a Teacher's Assistant and the Principal of Oslo Turnforening.

Around 1879, he studied the German system of gymnastics in Dresden, Saxony. He left Norway for the U.S. on January 26, 1883 and arrived in New York City on February 15, 1883.

United States In March 1883 he moved to Washington, D.C., where he visited the German Gymnastics Club a few days after arriving. He obtained a position teaching a class of fourteen women. Within a few weeks he had fifty female students between the ages of 13 and 50 attending his classes. He also held classes at the Franklin School until the spring of 1885.

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