Anthropometric measurements

William Tufts Brigham (1841-1926), ethnologist, botanist, and geologist, was the first Bernice P. Bishop Museum director in Honolulu, Hawaii. Brigham was an early proponent of anthropometry (the science of human measurement) and introduced physical educator Dudley Allen Sargent to dynamometers, devices designed to measure muscle force, strength, and endurance, which Sargent used to develop anthropometric measurement and strength tests for Harvard students. A graduate of Harvard University (AB 1862, MA 1865), Brigham began his career as a teacher at O'ahu College, Hawaii, surveyed the islands' botany in 1864-1865, and explored India and China. After returning to the United States in 1867, Brigham became a lawyer, taught botany at Harvard (1868-1869), and lectured and published books and articles on classical art, volcanology, geology, seismology, and botany. In 1888, Brigham returned to Hawaii, and in 1892, he was appointed the first curator of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, the largest museum in Hawaii. Brigham remained with the museum until his retirement in 1918.

William Hale Herrick (1860-1887) was the Director of the Gymnasium at Lehigh University from 1883 to 1886. Herrick was born in Boxford, Massachusetts, and was the son of Harriet Peabody Herrick and William A. Herrick. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University in 1882 and at the urging of Dudley Allen Sargent, Herrick joined the staff at Lehigh University. He died on November 9, 1887, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Dudley Allen Sargent (1849-1924), a physical educator, was the Director of the Hemenway Gymnasium (1879-1919) and Assistant Professor of Physical Training (1879-1889) at Harvard University. Sargent was an inventor of modern gymnasium equipment, a supporter of anthropometry, and a pioneer in advancing physical education in the United States. Sargent applied scientific research to fitness training when physical education was being promoted to improve health and welfare across the country. In his search for the ideal human form, Sargent collected thousands of anthropometric measurements from Harvard undergraduates. More than 10,000 assessments were gathered using Sargent's anthropometric data. Sargent examined hearts, lungs, sight, hearing, and over forty measurements of physical power and body size on students (some of whom were photographed nude). Sargent also developed several tests to measure a man's physical strength including, the Intercollegiate Strength Test (1886), the Universal Test for Strength, Speed, and Endurance (1902), and The Physical Test of Man (1921).