Delphine Hanna Papers

Delphine Hanna, daughter of John Vacanson and Juliet (Chadwick) Hanna, was born in Markesan, Wisconsin, on December 2, 1854.  She graduated from Brockport, New York, State School Normal School in 1874, and from the Sargeant School of Physical Education in 1885. She received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan in 1890, the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University in 1901, and the degree of Master of Arts from Oberlin College in 1901.

Hanna came to Oberlin College as an Instructor in Physical Culture in 1885; two years later she became Director of the Women's Gymnasium and Teacher of Physiology.  In 1897, she was appointed Director of Physical Training, and in 1903 Director of the Women's Gymnasium and Professor of Physical Training (later Physical Education). She continued in this position until her retirement in 1920 as Professor Emeritus.

Hanna was a pioneer in the field of physical education for women. She was the first woman in the United States, if not in the world, to hold a professorship in physical education.  It was through her influence that the teachers' course in physical education in Oberlin was inaugurated. Hanna initiated the establishment of the college's camp on the shore of Lake Erie in ca. 1921. During the summer, physical education students learned to swim and to teach swimming at Hanna Camp.

In 1925 the University of Michigan added her name to the "Michigan Hall of Fame" for her outstanding work in the field of physical education for women. The American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation honored her in 1931with one of their fellowship awards-- the highest honor they bestow.

Delphine Hanna was a talented and dedicated teacher and many students would remember her fondly. On her retirement, former student Fred Eugene Leonard (1889 AB, 1892 AM) wrote, "Dr. Hanna's own special knowledge and skill in medical gymnastics, combined with her deep personal interest in the individual student, have made possible an amount and kind of corrective work that is probably unique in American colleges and universities."

After her retirement she made her home in Cocoanut Grove, Florida and later in Niagara Falls, New York. Hanna died in a sanitarium in Castile, New York, on April 16, 1941, following a long illness, the cause of death being the infirmities of old age.

In May 1957, students, staff members and friends of the Women's Department of Physical Education established the Delphine Hanna Foundation. Funds were used for the curricular and extracurricular enrichment of the physical education program of Oberlin College.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Minnie L. Lynn, "Portrait of a Pioneer," The Oberlin Alumni Magazine, July 1957.

Alumni Records: Faculty, Staff, Trustees (RG 28/3): Faculty file of Delphine Hanna.

Note written by Josh Adler, Kenneth M. Grossi, Beth Spalding.