Arvid Kellgren was born in 1856, son of Captain Jonas Henrik Kellgren and younger brother of Henrik Kellgren – the ‘father of manual therapy’ (Ottosson, 2026). After graduating from high school in the rural town of Skara, Sweden in 1876, Arvid followed in his older brother’s footsteps and attended the Royal Central Institute of Gymnastics in Stockholm. He graduated as a Director of Gymnastics in 1879.

Thereafter Arvid worked in his brother’s remarkably popular institute in London, treating patients from all over Europe, Russia, the British and French colonies, and the USA (Ottoson, 2011). Henrik had progressed Pehr Henrik Ling’s work, particularly the manual therapy techniques, and was achieving great success.

With strong conviction of the benefits of manual therapy the Kellgren brothers and other Swedish gymnastic directors sought to change the practice of medicine to include movement and massage. After prolonged failure from the outside they changed tacks and attempted to do so from the inside. Arvid Kellgren entered the medical faculty of the University of Edinburgh, where he became Master of Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine in 1886.

In 1887, Arvid opened his own gymnastics institute on Cromwell Road in London and led it until 1917. It was important, if not imperative, to attract clients from the top layers of society, and with the Kellgren brothers as prime examples, Gymnastic Directors often succeeded amazingly well in that task. Their way to fame relied on “word of mouth” of prominent patients. For example, Henrik’s real big breakthrough in London came when he cured a Hungarian Count well connected with the British noblesse.

Arvid’s breakthrough came in 1888 when in the Autumn he accompanied Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) of Bavaria (1837–1898) on a trip to western Greece on the yacht “Miramar”. Enamoured, Sisi dedicated several romantic poems (called “Arvid-Lieder”) to her 32-year-old doctor. Kellgren was also Elisabeth’s doctor for a period afterwards and accompanied her to both Vienna and Munich. On Christmas Day 1888, he received the Order of the Iron Crown from the Emperor at the palace in Vienna in recognition of the successful outcome of his treatment.

Connections with royalty provided further opportunities. In the winter of 1888–1889, Arvid gave lectures and demonstrated his brother’s techniques in Trieste and Pula for the Austro-Hungarian military. His descriptions were translated into German and printed in the Sanitary Report of the Imperial and Royal Navy of Austro-Hungary.

Arvid later sent the document to Edinburgh as a doctoral thesis and was successful in 1889. And in 1890 he published the works as a book titled, ‘The Technique of Ling’s System of Manual Treatment’, which in turn was translated into French, German and Italian. Unlike Henrik, Arvid published in more detail about his brother’s manual system and when doing so he also excluded some of Henrik’s more controversial stances with regard to aetiology.

Mixing with the aristocracy also provided extraordinary social opportunities. For example Henrik Kellgren married into a very well connected Russian military family, whilst Arvid married the daughter of businessman and Siemens co-owner Johann Carl Ludwig Loafer, who upon his death left an inheritance of £1.5 million (today worth £250 million). The marriages moved the Kellgren’s into loftier social circles, for example, when Swedish Crown Prince Gustaf, later Gustaf VI Adolf, and his second wife Louise Mountbatten married in London in 1923, the bride and groom received a silver tray and two sauce bowls as a wedding gift from Arvid and his wife.

Rich and famous, Arvid Kellgren supported through donations, social and agricultural activities in Norrbotten, the northernmost county of Sweden. He also stimulated interest in shooting through several hiking prizes (Kellgrenska hiking prize). In 1901 he became a knight of the Order of the North Star, in 1908 he became a commander of the Order of Vasa, second class, and in 1915 he was made a commander of the Order of Vasa, first class. In 1928 he received the Illis quorum – a prestigious Swedish government gold medal awarded to individuals for outstanding, long-standing contributions to culture, science, or society (Lindner, 1948)

Arvid Kellgren died in London in 1944.

References

Kellgren, A. (1890). The technic of Ling’s system of manual treatment: As applicable to surgery and medicine. Young J Pentland: Edinburgh and London.

Lindner I. (1948). Swedish Men and Women: Biographical Reference Book. Albert Bonnie’s Publishing House: Stockholm.

Ottosson, A. (2025).  The lost origins of osteopathy and chiropractic in European mechanical medicine and physical education, c. 1880 – 1950. Routledge: New York and Oxon.

Ottosson, A. (2011). The manipulated history of manipulations of spines and joints? Rethinking orthopaedic medicine through the 19th century discourse of European mechanical medicine. Medicine Studies, 3(2), 83-116.