Alan Douglas Benson Clarke (21 March 1922 – 10 December 2011) was a British psychologist who specialised in the field of

learning disability Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

Life

Clarke was born on 21 March 1922. He grew up in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, where his father was a solicitor. He served in the army during the war and afterwards completed a BSc in Psychology at the University of Reading where he met his future wife Ann Gravely, also a psychologist. He then undertook a PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. In 1951 Alan and Ann Clarke began working at

Manor Hospital, Epsom The Manor Hospital, formerly The Manor Asylum and The Manor Certified Institution was a mental handicap and psychiatric hospital in Horton, near Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom History Ancient use of the site Pottery sherds and worked flints, found ...

working with children with learning disabilities. He then moved to the University of Hull to establish the Department of Psychology.

Work

Clarke is renowned for his work on

. He was President of the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...

and also editor of the British Journal of Psychology. In addition, he was President of the ''International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability''. He was appointed CBE in the

1974 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 7 June 1974 for ...

for "services to the Training Council for Teachers of the Mentally Handicapped."

Books

Clarke A., & Clarke, A. (1958 – 1985). ''Mental Deficiency: The Changing Outlook.''

Awards

* 1974: CBE * 1977 – 1978: President,

* 2007: Honorary Fellow, British Psychological Society

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Alan 1922 births 2011 deaths Developmental psychologists British psychologists Presidents of the British Psychological Society Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War II