1847 At its annual meeting in Boston on Sept. 20, the American Association of Geologists and Naturalists voted to become the American Association for the Promotion of Science. By the next annual meeting, the name had changed to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
1907 Evelyn Hooker was born on Sept. 2. Hooker performed a pioneering study in 1957 showing that experienced clinicians, using psychological tests, could not distinguish between homosexual men and heterosexual men. The study provided evidence that homosexuality is within the normal range of human behavior. She received the APA Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest Award in 1991.
1917 On Sept. 20, behaviorist John B. Watson was ordered from his professorship at Johns Hopkins University into active military service. Watson went to England to test aviators for the Signal Corps. He irreverently assessed American officers as "nincompoops" and military service as "a nightmare." Despite a near court-martial, Watson was honorably discharged as a major on Nov. 30, 1919.
1954 David Riesman appeared on the cover of Time magazine the week of Sept. 27. Riesman's work relating culture to behavior was popularized by his book "The Lonely Crowd."
--WARREN STREET, PHD
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
