HAINES, JACKSON

born 1840, New York City died January 1876, Finland American skater known as the father of figure skating. He was a ballet dancer who adapted ballet style and techniques to a sport that had previously comprised a limited number of figures executed in a tight, awkward manner. Having won the U.S. men's championship, he went to Europe in 1865. Although his style of skating was rejected in England, he became a great popular success in Sweden, Austria, and elsewhere on the Continent. In Vienna, the world waltz capital in the 19th century, he astutely offered instruction in waltzing on ice. Skating schools founded or inspired by Haines sprang up in numerous countries. On a journey by sled from St. Petersburg to Stockholm, he contracted pneumonia and died.