Francois Delsarte (1811-1871) was the founder of a system of “Applied Aesthetics” in which physical and vocal gestures for the orator were codified in terms of a simple, extensive, highly unified pattern. His influence on the theatre was augmented by his only American pupil, Steele Mackaye, who introduced the system to the United States. It became the basic actor-training method and was extremely popular in various social uses in the twenty five years after 1870. Mackaye's own contribution to the system, its development in terms of “Harmonic Gymnastics,” played a significant part in the actor training and in the related application of these principles to physical culture. From 1870 to 1920, the Delsarte System of Oratory was perhaps the most popular single method for speech training in the United States.