23 August in the History of Psychology

On August 23:

1769 — Baron Georges Cuvier was born. Cuvier was a French comparative anatomist who studied relations between anatomical form and function. Despite the importance of these relations to the theory of evolution, Cuvier remained a creationist.

1890 — Lillian Gertrude Portenier was born. Her interests were in mental testing, mental health, and child psychology. Portenier served as president of the International Council of Psychologists and, at the University of Wyoming, was a central figure in state and regional psychological organizations.

1917 — The "Soldier's Qualification Card," devised by a committee headed by Walter Dill Scott, was approved by the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, H. P. McCain. This brief questionnaire, derived from Scott's "Rating Scale for Selecting Captains," was the first objective instrument used to select candidates for officer training camps.

1920 — The Library of Congress received its copy of the issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology that reported John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner's "Little Albert" study.

1935 — The "Report of the Clinical Section of the APA" was published in Psychological Clinic. The report defined clinical psychology, described standards for training, and provided a guide to all of the psychological clinics in the United States. Andrew W. Brown chaired the reporting committee, and Robert A. Brotemarkle, Maud A. Merrill, and Clara H. Town served as members.

1965 — The psychiatric drug Triavil (Merck, Sharp, and Dohme) was approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Triavil is a combination of the antipsychotic perphenazine (Trilafon), which is a phenothiazine derivative, and the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline (Elavil). Etrafon (Schering) is also perphenazine and amitriptyline and was approved by the FDA on December 30, 1965.

1982 — U.S. Representative Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) addressed the annual convention of the APA, meeting in Washington, DC. Her topic was "Social Policy and Women in the 1980s."

1982 — The organizational meeting of the APA Student Affiliate Organization was held at the APA convention in Washington, DC. Bruce Crow of Nova University called the meeting.

1985 — Norman Cousins, former publisher of the Saturday Review and author of The Healing Heart, delivered an invited address to the APA annual convention in Los Angeles. Cousins's address was titled "New Dimensions in Healing" and described the effects of positive attitude and humor on recovery from illness.

1988 — The first issue of the journal Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, and Behavioral Neurology was published.