Allport, Gordon Willard

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Allport, Gordon Willard (11 November 1897–09 October 1967), psychologist, was born in Montezuma, Indiana, the son of John Edwards Allport, a physician, and Nellie Wise. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and, following the example of his older brother Floyd Henry Allport, who also became an eminent psychologist, he attended Harvard University. As an undergraduate, he concentrated on both psychology and social ethics (the predecessor of sociology at Harvard), and he spent much of his spare time in social service during World War I. Upon his graduation in 1919, he spent a year teaching English and sociology at Robert College in Constantinople (now Boğaçızı University in Istanbul). Returning to Harvard, he continued to be influenced by his brother Floyd, then an instructor, and by Herbert Langfeld, who encouraged him to follow his own sense of direction. Allport received his Ph.D. in psychology in 1922....