Born: July 22, 1904, Nova Scotia
Died: August 20, 1985
Education: B.A. - Dalhousie University, 1925; M.A. - McGill University, 1931; Ph.D - Harvard University, 1936
Category: Basic Research

This exemplary educator began his career as a school teacher and principal in the Montreal area, while simultaneously continuing his studies in psychology. In 1932 he accompanied Dr. Karl Lashley, the most respected physiological psychologist at the time, to Harvard University, where he completed his doctoral research on learning in animals. From 1942 he continued his research on the relationship between mental function and brain structure, which led to the publication in 1949 of The Organization of Behaviour. This book had a profound influence on attitudes towards neuropsychology and towards psychology as a whole. Dr. Hebb returned to McGill in 1946, a year later becoming Chairman of the Department of Psychology. Besides carrying on his teaching, research, and giving graduate seminars in the evenings, he built up the Department’s facilities with skill and energy. In 1958 he published A Textbook of Psychology, which supplemented his popular and witty introductory psychology course at McGill. Throughout his life Dr. Hebb maintained a deep interest in the relationship between mind and brain, and especially in educational methods. He occupied many important offices in North American psychological associations, was a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and was the recipient of over a dozen Honorary Degrees.