Johan Kemp
Johan Valdemar Kemppainen 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.He started his career in banking in 1906. He became a bank manager in Helsingin Osakepankki in Lahti in 1919.
He was an independent member of the Lahti city council in 1930–1931.
Sport
Kemp took part in two different sports in the Olympics.He was the commodore of the sailing club Lahden Purjehdusseura for over ten years.
Activism
He was a resistance activist during the period of Russification of Finland, although he estimated his role as minor.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. 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.
He remained in the local White Guard leadership up to his death. He was awarded the Medal of Merit of the Frontman's Union of Liberation War.
Personal
His parents were coachman Juha Juhanpoika Kemppainen and Edla Gustava Helenius. He married Helmi Maria Markkanen in 1910. They had four daughters:- Margareta Maria
- Vava Elisabet
- Inga Maija
- Asta Britta
He died of a cardiac arrest. He is buried at the Old Cemetery in Lahti.