April 29 in Psychology

APA Historical Database: Selected Entries

On April 29:

1869 — The first article on neurasthenia, by George Miller Beard, was published. The article appeared in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal and was a version of a paper Beard read before the New York Medical Association in 1868, where he coined the term.

1870 — William James, after reading an essay by French philosopher Charles Renouvier, decided that "My first act of free will shall be to believe in free will." This brought an end to a personal crisis of depression and marked the beginning of James's own brand of psychology.

1871 — Louis William Stern was born. Stern is best known for studies of the constancy of intelligence and the concept of the intelligence quotient, but he also wrote influential works in applied, developmental, and differential psychology. He coined the term applied psychology in 1903.

1931 — Margaret Floy Washburn was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Washburn was the first woman psychologist elected to the Academy and only the second woman scientist of any kind honored in this way.

1955 — The Kansas Psychological Association was incorporated.

1976 — The first Annual Symposium on the Delivery of Mental Health Services to the Black Consumer was held.

Copyright © 1995, American Psychological Association. Web version by permission. Source: Street, W. R. (1994). A Chronology of Noteworthy Events in American Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. The American Psychological Association and Central Washington University have supported the development of the APA Historical Database.

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