29 October in the History of Psychology

On October 29:

1791 — John Elliotson was born. Elliotson was a prominent London physician who helped to found the Phrenological Society of London and who promoted the use and scientific study of Mesmerism in England. He believed that "animal magnetism" was a distinct physical force despite the opposition of the scientific and medical establishment.

1842 — The New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane, now named New Hampshire State Hospital, opened in Concord. This was the state's first mental hospital and the nation's 13th. The cost of construction was $36,278. George Chandler was the first superintendent of the hospital.

1871 — Narziss K. Ach was born. Ach was one of the founders of the Würzburg school of imageless thought.

1882 — "Anna O." was discharged from the Bellevue Sanatorium in Kreutzlingen, Switzerland. She had been admitted on July 12, 1882, after 18 months of treatment by Josef Breuer that proved to be a cornerstone of the psychoanalytic method but not a satisfactory end of Anna's psychological problems.

1894 — Harvard University refused to admit Mary Whiton Calkins to doctoral candidacy, despite Hugo Münsterberg's testimony that she was the best student he had ever had at Harvard University. Harvard's refusal was based on Calkins's gender.

1908 — Louise Bates Ames was born. Ames was a developmental psychologist interested in child development, child-rearing practices, and gerontology. She was a cofounder of the Gesell Institute of Child Development.

1936 — The first Educational Testing Service Invitational Conference was held. At the time, it was called the Invitational Conference on Testing Problems and may be the oldest continuous conference on testing issues.

1946 — Samuel Renshaw was awarded a patent for what appears to be the first tachistoscopic projector. The device had an adjustable opening in a wheel that rotated in front of a projector lens at a known speed. The duration of the projected image was controlled by varying the number of degrees of arc in the opening.

1947 — The Educational Testing Service was founded to take over the college entrance testing functions of several other organizations: the College Entrance Examination Board, the American Council on Education, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

1953 — The antipsychotic drug Serpasil (reserpine; CIBA Pharmaceutical) was approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Reserpine was the first major tranquilizer used in the treatment of mental patients. A rauwolfia derivative, reserpine acts to deplete the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin in the brain.

1957 — The Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (SEAB) was incorporated in Washington, DC. The SEAB was founded to publish the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (1958) and later published the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (1968). The incorporation papers were signed by Joseph V. Brady, Richard J. Herrnstein, and Donald S. Blough. Murray Sidman was president pro tem of the SEAB board of directors when it first met on April 11, 1958.

1960 — The steering committee that planned the founding meeting of the New England Psychological Association met in Cambridge, Massachusetts. M. Curtis Langhorne was the primary promoter of a New England association separate from the Eastern Psychological Association. The first annual meeting of the organization was held on October 20, 1961.

1988 — The founding meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society was held. Bill Hamilton was elected the first president. The society's constitution was adopted on the last day of its first annual meeting, August 25-27, 1989.