Retired University of Missouri journalism professor and Bernarr Macfadden scholar, Taft collected an amazing array of research materials on Bernarr Macfadden. This collection consists of Dr. William H. Taft’s research about physical culture figure Bernarr Macfadden. The research was used for several articles and an unpublished manuscript titled “Portrait in Paradox: Bernarr Macfadden.” First hand...
Father of donor Jackie Berry, Maczuga, a weightlifter and Rhode Island native, was a prolific collector of weight training and gymnasium equipment.
Professional strongman Louis Attila trained Sandow, moved to America in 1893, and opened a gym in New York City. His son-in-law, Siegmund Klein, took over the gym in the 1920s and managed it until 1974.
Johnnie Lee Macfadden was Bernarr Macfadden’s last wife, a beauty expert, and a columnist.
Dr. Gehman worked as an editor for Bernarr Macfadden in the 1920s, wrote one of the earliest books warning of the dangers of cigarette smoke (Smoke Over America) in the 1930s, and served as president of both the American Vegetarian Union and the American Naturopathic Society. He was a discerning collector of early naturopathic and...
Willoughby was a weightlifting historian, artist, and anthropometrist. He authored a number of books, including The Super Athletes; helped form the ACWLA; and wrote hundreds of articles on physical culture. He began weightlifting as a teenager, winning an A.A.U. National Championship in 1924. Along with George Jowett and Ottley Coulter, he formed the American Continental Weight...
Abbye “Pudgy” Stockton played a central role in popularizing physical culture and exercise for women in the mid-Twentieth Century. She was born Abbye Eville on August 11, 1917, and lived most of her long life in Santa Monica, CA. In the late 1930s, she began working out with friends at Muscle Beach and quickly became...
Robert Collins Hoffman, who was 6′ 3″ by the age of thirteen, developed an early interest in athletics. He initially became involved in long-distance running and in water sports, competing in marathons and rowing championships. Hoffman first became interested in weightlifting in 1923 and formed the York Oil Burner Athletic Club, a team made up...
Jowett was a strongman, promoter, author, and magazine editor whose career spanned the period 1910-1960. With David Willoughby and Ottley Coulter, he helped found the ACWLA, and also helped Bob Hoffman start Strength & Health magazine. He later aided Joe Weider during Weider’s early days as a magazine publisher. The contents of the Jowett Collection include scrapbooks,...
