Johan Kemp
Full nameJohan Valdemar Kemppainen
Birth date1 July 1881
Birth placeHelsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire
Death date20 October 1941 (aged 60)
Death placeLahti, Finland
DisciplineMAG
ClubHelsingfors Gymnastikklubb
Show-medalsyes

Johan Valdemar Kemppainen (1 July 1881 – 20 October 1941) was a Finnish athlete who won bronze in the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Background

Kemp performed his matriculation exam in the Kotka Swedish Co-educational School in 1904.[1]

He started his career in banking in 1906.[2] He became a bank manager in Helsingin Osakepankki in Lahti in 1919.[3]

He was an independent member of the Lahti city council in 1930–1931.[4][5]

Sport

Kemp took part in two different sports in the Olympics.

Johan Kemp at the Olympic Games
GamesSportEventRankResultNotes
1908 Summer OlympicsGymnasticsTeam3rd405 pointsSource: [6]
AthleticsFreestyle javelin throw10th–33rdunknownSource: [7]
Shot putDid not start
Discus throwDid not start
Greek discus throwDid not start

He was the commodore of the sailing club Lahden Purjehdusseura for over ten years.[8]

Activism

He was a resistance activist during the period of Russification of Finland, although he estimated his role as minor.[9]

He was a founding member of the Lahti White Guard in August 1917 and joined the White Guard district staff in December. He took part in the Mommila skirmish as a leader in November 1917.[10][11][12] He spent the Finnish Civil War obtaining rifles and ammunition and serving as an aide-de-camp and a chief of staff to various commanding officers.[13]

He remained in the local White Guard leadership up to his death.[14] He was awarded the Medal of Merit of the Frontman's Union of Liberation War.[15]

Personal

His parents were coachman Juha Juhanpoika Kemppainen and Edla Gustava Helenius.[16] He married Helmi Maria Markkanen in 1910. They had four daughters:

  • Margareta Maria
  • Vava Elisabet
  • Inga Maija
  • Asta Britta

They divorced in 1919. He married Ruth Elna Alanco in 1922. They had no children.[17]

He died of a cardiac arrest.[18] He is buried at the Old Cemetery in Lahti.[19]

Further reading

  • Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp — en aktiv patriot i Finland 1881–1941 (in Swedish). Turku: Bro.
  • Siukonen, Markku (2001). Urheilukunniamme puolustajat. Suomen olympiaedustajat 1906–2000 (in Finnish). Vol. 12. Suuri olympiateos. Jyväskylä: Graface. p. 315. ISBN 951-98673-1-7.

References

  1. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. p. 25.
  2. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. p. 36.
  3. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. p. 58.
  4. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. p. 42.
  5. ^ Halila, Aimo (1958). Lahden historia (in Finnish). Lahti: Lahden kaupunki. p. 681.
  6. ^ Mallon, Bill & Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 185. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.
  7. ^ Mallon, Bill & Buchanan, Ian (2001). The 1908 Olympic Games: Results for All Competitors in All Events, With Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland. pp. 98. ISBN 978-0-7864-0598-5.
  8. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. p. 40.
  9. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. pp. 27–32.
  10. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. pp. 44–49.
  11. ^ Hersalo, N. V. (1955). Puolustustahtoinen kansa. Muinaisitsenäisyydestä valtiolliseen riippumattomuuteen (in Finnish). Vol. I. Suojeluskuntain historia. Helsinki: Hata. pp. 264–267.
  12. ^ Hurme, Matti (1937). Mommila (in Finnish). Porvoo: WSOY. p. 67.
  13. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. pp. 53–56.
  14. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. pp. 63–64.
  15. ^ Uola, Mikko (1988). Rintamamiesten liitto. Vapaussodan rintamamiesten liitto/Rintamamiesliitto 1929–1944 (in Finnish). Tampere: Vapaussoturien huoltosäätiö. p. 109. ISBN 9519989390.
  16. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. p. 11.
  17. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. pp. 36–37.
  18. ^ Schybergson, Carl Magnus (1942). Johan Kemp. Aktivisti ja isänmaanystävä (in Finnish). Translated by Niemi, Jalmari. Lahti. p. 69.
  19. ^ Mellberg, Ira (3 January 2020 [first edition published 20 July 2017]). "Hautausmaiden muurit kätkevät sisäpuolelleen tuhansia tarinoita — osallistu aikamatkalle opastetulla kierroksella" (in Finnish). Etelä-Suomen Sanomat. ISSN 0359-5056. Retrieved 4 October 2023.