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1824 — The first American public opinion poll was published in the Harrisburg Pennsylvanian and the Raleigh Star. The poll predicted the outcome of the presidential race among John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson. Modern advances in social science methodology have markedly increased the accuracy of public opinion polling.
1879 — Herbert S. Langfeld was born. Langfeld proposed that consciousness does not exist in isolation from motor acts. His research was in action, inhibition, aesthetics, and emotional expression. He promoted an international arena for American psychology. APA President, 1930.
1895 — Sigmund Freud carried out his first lengthy dream analysis while vacationing at Bellevue, on the outskirts of Vienna. Freud used his analysis of his previous night's dream, later called the "Irma" dream, to illustrate his method of free association to dream elements. He credited this analysis with being the origin of his wish fulfillment theory of dreams.
1903 — Theodore M. Newcomb was born. Newcomb's social psychological research focused on social influence, attitude development, community behavior, and small group phenomena. His longitudinal studies of changing values in Bennington College students are especially well known. APA President, 1956; APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, 1976.
1908 — Thelma Alper was born. Her contributions include research in ego strength and achievement motivation. She devised the Psychological Insight Test and the Wellesley Role-Orientation Scale.
1914 — Kenneth B. Clark was born. Clark's work, with Mamie Phipps Clark, on the psychologically harmful effects of segregation was cited in the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education. He was the first African American psychologist to serve as president of the APA (1971). APA Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest Award, 1978.
1926 — Gerald R. Patterson was born. Patterson's research career has explored the dynamics of families with aggressive, antisocial, hyperactive children. Special attention has been paid to patterns of coercion in these families and effective treatment strategies for children and parents. APA Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology, 1984.
1953 — A letter from the Southwestern Psychological Association Organizing Committee, composed of Wayne H. Holtzman, Harry Helson, and Saul Sells, invited members of the APA living in the southwestern United States to form a new regional association. The first meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association was held on December 3-5, 1953, in San Antonio, Texas.
1967 — The drug Navane (thiotixene; Roerig) was approved for distribution by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. One of the general class of thioxanthenes, it is used as an antipsychotic agent.
1981 — A task force for the psychological study of lesbian and gay issues first met in Anaheim, California. The group later formed APA Division 44.
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