Portrait of David Wechsler

Birthday profile

David Wechsler

American psychologist and academic (1896–1981)

Born
January 12, 1896
Died
May 2, 1981
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1896

About David Wechsler

David "Weshy" Wechsler (; January 12, 1896 – May 2, 1981) was a Romanian-American psychologist. He developed well-known intelligence scales, such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) to get to know his patients at Bellevue Hospital. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Wechsler as the 51st most cited psychologist of the 20th century. == Early life and education == Wechsler was born in a Jewish family in Lespezi, Romania, and emigrated with his parents to the United States as a child. He studied at the City College of New York and Columbia University, where he earned his master's degree in 1917 and his Ph.D. in 1925 under the direction of Robert S. Woodworth. During World War I, he worked with the United States Army to develop psychological tests to screen new draftees while studying under Charles Spearman and Karl Pearson. == Career == === Bellevue Hospital === After short stints at various locations (including five years in private practice), Wechsler became chief psychologist at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital in 1932, where he stayed until 1967. Wechsler was member of a 1947 mission to set up a mental health program and clinic for Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. === Intelligence scales === Wechsler is best known for his intelligence tests. He was one of the most influential advocates of the role of nonintellective factors in testing.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

David Wechsler timeline

  1. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was developed first in 1939 and then called the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Test.
  2. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Wechsler as the 51st most cited psychologist of the 20th century.

The world when David Wechsler was born

David Wechsler was born in 1896. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst modern Olympic Games held in Athens
  • Top headlinePlessy v. Ferguson — "separate but equal" upheld
  • Technology milestoneGuglielmo Marconi patents wireless telegraph (radio)
  • World population~1.56B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderGrover Cleveland
  • U.S. population69.0M

1896 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in David Wechsler's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18962026
Population69.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.