Finding Aid: Peter V. Karpovich Papers

              Springfield College
Archives and Special Collections Department
Collection Overview
Creator:
Karpovich, Peter V.
Title:
Peter V. Karpovich papers
Dates:
1925-1975 (bulk 1946-1969)
Call Number:
M1
Volume:
12 cubic ft. (12 boxes)
Location:
2/1
Historical Abstract:
Peter V. Karpovich (PVK) (1896-1975) was born in Russia and trained as a medical doctor, graduating from the State Military Academy of Medicine in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Russia in 1919. PVK fled Russia for Latvia in 1922, because of political and professional turmoil. In Latvia, PVK worked in the Riga YMCA. In 1925, PVK left Latvia for an opportunity to conduct research at Springfield College (SC). He enrolled as a special advanced student and earned a Master‟s Degree in Physical Education from SC in 1929. In 1927, while completing his studies, PVK became a professor of physiology at SC and remained in that position until his retirement from teaching in 1961. During the Second World War, PVK served as Chief of the Laboratory of Physical Fitness for the Army Air Force at the School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Field, Texas. From 1946 to1948, PVK lectured at Columbia University in New York. Around this time he met and married his second wife, Josephine Rathbone, an acclaimed scholar of physical education and relaxation. PVK returned to SC and from 1961 to1969 served as the director of the Physiology Research Lab at SC, conducting numerous research projects in physiology and kinesiology and publishing many reports, articles, and several seminal books in the field. PVK was also a founding member of the American College of Sports Medicine and a consultant to many government, private and educational organizations. PVK was and remains an internationally recognized pioneer in physical education.
Scope and Content Abstract:
This collection documents the professional career of Peter V. Karpovich (PVK). PVK was a well-known figure in the field of physical education. The bulk of the collection contains PVK‟s research material which documents his work at Springfield College and his life as a researcher. This material includes: project data, reports, published articles, photographic prints, slides and negatives, film and audio resources, physical artifacts, scrapbooks and newsclippings. The collection also includes a limited amount of personal material documenting PVK‟s personal life. PVK‟s personal story is told through photographic prints, scrapbooks, and other written material. Also included are two series highlighting PVK‟s communications with fellow researchers and the general public in the form of speeches to various local, national and international audiences, and correspondence.
Organization:
Organized into six series: 1. Personal; 2. Research; 3. Speeches; 4. Correspondence; 5. Scrapbooks; and 6. Visual Resources.
Restriction:
The collection is unrestricted.