James Mckeen Cattell
#263,929 Most Popular
About
Psychologist whose experiments in mental ability helped establish the field as a legitimate scientific discipline. The New York Times once called him "the dean of American science".
Before Fame
He published dozens of articles measuring human reaction times and memory, which he considered a proxy for intelligence.
Trivia
An outspoken opponent of American involvement in WWI, he was fired from his post at Columbia, but sued and won, which established the tradition of tenure to protect academics with unpopular beliefs.
Family Life
He married Josephine Owens, the daughter of an English merchant; they home-schooled their children before college age.
Associated With
Jean Piaget was another notable psychologist, who studied human intelligence - in his case, in children.
