AMERICAN SOKOL HISTORY
Czech Sokol Organization
Founded in 1862 in the Czech lands, which later became Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovak Republic), the SOKOL organization continues today in the United States as a vital, thriving entity. Based on founder Dr. Miroslav Tyrs’ credo of “A Sound Mind in a Sound Body,” the member units of the American Sokol offer physical training in gymnastics and other athletics, providing cultural awareness and family-oriented activities.
Miroslav Tyrš - Founder
Born September 17, 1832 – Died August 8, 1884 in Tyrol, Austria
Tyrs, the immortal founder of the Sokols, was an exceptional philosopher, aesthetic, art critic, teacher and leader of men. He was, above all, an ardent patriot in the finest sense of the word. Orphaned when he was 7, with the help of his uncle, he received a good education, graduating with honors from Charles University. Interested in athletics, especially gymnastics, and following the example of ancient Greece, he saw that any nation must be physically fit, morally on a high plane, and intelligent to secure and retain its independence. Elevated to Doctor of Philosophy at Charles University and member of the Editorial staff of Rieger’s Encyclopedia, he formulated his Sokol plan, creating an excellent, entirely new gymnastic terminology.
He was the first Physical Director, editor of the Sokol paper, and creator of drills and exercises, placing the whole on a firm scientific basis. The next twenty years of his life were devoted to Sokol, creating extreme hardship in his professional work and leaving him penniless. He gave his conception of the meaning of the Sokols in one sentence. “Our idea is not for any faction, but for the whole nation – it is not subject to change like religious or political ideologies, – rather it is eternally true and important, and stands in that respect, elevated above temporary disputes.”
Jindřich Fügner - Founder
Co-founder of the Sokol organization, first president of the original Praha Sokol and builder of the first Sokol gymnasium, Jindřich Fügner was well-educated in business, widely traveled, and well-read. He commanded a high place in the commercial, political and social sphere of his time. Too sublime and generous a soul to be fully satisfied with his life, he became Tyrs’ natural partner in the Sokol organization. Democratic in his relations, devoted to the Sokol ideal, in a few years, he set a precedent of self-sacrifice, intelligent leadership and devotion to the welfare of his people and country that are unequaled in our history.
He drew to the young Sokol organization many outstanding men of his time and cemented their relationship so well they carried on after his death. Dr. Scheiner expressed his value the best when he said, “He created a new conception of the Sokol, and that new conception, which was his work, he clothed in those virtues, of which he was a shining example.”
