APA Past Presidents

William James, 1894 and 1904

William James did more to establish the new science of psychology in American than anyone else, despite the fact that he did not conduct psychological research or develop a systematic theory of psychology.

Ernest Hilgard, 1949

Ernest Ropiequet “Jack” Hilgard was one of APA’s most remarkable Presidents. His long life span and his intimate involvement for many years in the very middle of the mainstream of American psychology ensured that he knew personally most of the key figures that shaped the science and emerging practice of psychology in the 20th century.

Neal Elgar Miller, 1961

Neal Elgar Miller was born on August 3, 1909, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in 1931, a master’s from Stanford the next year, and his doctorate from Yale in 1935, where he eventually began teaching and became the first James Rowland Angell Professor of Psychology in 1952.

Anne Anastasi, 1972

Anne Anastasi was born in New York City. Her father died when she was one year old and she was raised by her mother and grandmother. Precocious in intellect, Anne was primarily home-schooled by her grandmother, while her mother provided the role-model of being a resourceful woman in the work force. Anne's intellectual ability facilitated her early entry into Barnard College at age 15 and into graduate school at Columbia University, where she earned her doctorate in only two years, at age 21.

Florence Denmark, 1980

Florence Levin Denmark was born in Philadelphia into a large extended family. Her father was an attorney and her mother a musician. She has recounted that she shares many of her father’s aptitudes and interests, while it was her mother who was a powerful force for achievement and accomplishment in Florence’s life.

Joseph Dominic Matarazzo, 1989

"To successfully grapple with one of the more important challenges of the last 2 decades of the 20th century, we must aggressively investigate and deal effectively with the role of the individual’s behavior and lifestyle in health and dysfunction. There is much more that could be done at the interfaces of normal physical health and behavior."

Joseph D. Matarazzo in the American Psychologist, 1982, p. 12.