Mary Hemenway was a philanthropist in Boston who had many interests, both within Boston and elsewhere. In 1867, Hemenway was funding many Reconstruction Era schools in the South, where she met Amy Morris Homans, a nineteen-year old who had traveled to work in the schools. When Hemenway returned to Boston, Homans returned with her as her executive secretary. In 1887, Hemenway founded the Boston Normal School of Cooking. The following year, she provided instruction to one hundred Boston school teachers in a system of gymnastics education known as the Swedish system. At the time, the predominant form of physical education was a German style of gymnastics, with an emphasis on strength training and competitiveness. In 1889, Hemenway funded and Homans arranged a conference on physical training, which had national influence on the course of physical education in schools. The conference "is considered by most historians to be pivotal in the development of American physical education".