Katherine Whitney Curtis (January 4, 1897 – July 6, 1980), also spelled "Katharine" or "Kay" Curtis, was an American swimmer and physical education instructor who is widely credited as the originator of synchronized swimming. While historical figures such as Esther Williams and Annette Kellerman are recognized for similar contributions, important historical details regarding the origin of the word "Synchronized Swimming," its reference to the Olympic sport, and the technical structure of that sport are all credited to Curtis.
The only descendants of Katherine's family survive through her nephew, Gaylord Whitney, in central Ohio. Her great-grand nephew, Jordan Whitney Wei, is both the writer and primary researcher for her first comprehensive biography.
Kay Curtis introduced synchronized swimming in 1934 at the Chicago World's Fair with Norman Ross as her announcer. To her, synchronized swimming was a co-ed sport as it still might be if she hadn't been transferred overseas (1943-1962) with the Red Cross as recreational director. One of her early disciples was Hal Henning. She staged a production for the Armed Forces in the spectacular fountains and pools and gardens of the palace built by the Kings of the Two Sicilys and used as Allied headquarters in Caserta, Italy. When she finally returned home in 1962 after observing synchronized swimming all over Europe, her baby was a full-blown sport and has been a dominant American aquatic sport and art form ever since. Her pioneer book Rhythmic Swimming (1936) was a classic textbook on the sport she originated. Her no-nonsense ability to say it like it is made her not only the tough mother of synchronized swimming but led Bill Bachrach to call Kay Curtis "the only person I was ever jealous of in swimming".
Childhood
Kay Curtis was born Katharine Townsend Whitney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 4, 1897. She was the daughter of Lee Rankin Whitney and Anne Townsend Whitney. Her father, Lee Whitney, was Chief Clerk of the Milwaukee branch of the Federal Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation. While Katharine and her siblings (two brothers and one sister) were still young their mother moved them to Delafield, Wisconsin, while their father remained in Milwaukee. When Katharine was of high school age, her mother moved the family to Madison, Wisconsin.
Katharine was an outstanding athlete during her high school years. On August 4, 1912, she swam across Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, a distance of three and one-half miles, in three hours and forty minutes, a remarkable accomplishment because she had to battle headwinds the entire distance. Three male swimmers who started with her were forced out before half the distance was accomplished. During the summer months of her high school career, Katharine was employed as a playground instructor by the Madison public schools.
Education and early career
Katharine graduated from Madison's high school in June 1913 and entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison that fall. She attended college there until 1917, majoring in home economics and physical education, but did not take a degree. Between June and September 1917, she served as a swimming instructor at the University of Chicago. Her next job (September 1917 to June 1918) was as a physical education instructor at public schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Brief tenures of employment in physical education followed at Chico State Teachers College in Chico, California (the summer of 1918), the University of Chicago (August–September 1918), the Summit School for Girls in St. Paul, Minnesota (September 1918-June 1919), and again at the University of Chicago (the summer of 1919). Between September 1919 and June 1921, she taught physical education at The Principia, a private high school and college in St. Louis, Missouri. During this time, she also served as a coach at Camp Chocora in Tamworth, New Hampshire (the summer of 1920). The summer of 1921 found her as a swimming coach at Camp Minewonka at Three Lakes, Wisconsin.