Ingeborg Appel

Ingeborg Appel née Schrøder (26 June 1869, Askov—5 November 1948, Brørup) was a Danish educator who was active at Askov Folk High School. As a teenager, she became interested in teaching gymnastics which she later studied at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm. She introduced the subject at Askov where she also gave courses in health and nursing. In 1891, she married the school's principal Jacob Appel with whom she shared responsibility for the school, running the establishment herself during the lengthy periods when he was tied up as a government minister. In addition to her teaching skills, Appel proved to be an excellent administrator and an inspiring speaker.

Early life, education and family Born on 26 June 1868 at Askov in the south of Jutland, Ingeborg Schrøder was the daughter of the Askov folk high school principal Ludvig Peter Schrøder (1836–1908) and his wife Charlotte Caroline Elise Johanne née Wagner (1842–1904), the school's matron. She was the third of the family's 12 children. While she was a student at Vallekilde Folk High School, in 1885 the Swedish gymnastics teacher inspired her to teach gymnastics. From 1887 to 1889, she was one of the first Danish women to study at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (then known as Gymnastiska Centralinstitutet) in Stockholm. In September 1891, she married the folk high school principal and government minister Jacob Christian Lindberg Appel (1866–1931) with whom she had four children: Margrethe (1898), Cornelius (1901), Julie (1901) and Charlotte (1906).

Ingeborg Appel died on 5 November 1948 in Brørup and is buried in Askov.