Marjory Bates Pratt (16 July 1896 – 7 July 1992) was an American psychologist and poet.

Early life

Marjory Bates was born on 16 July 1896 in Waterville, Maine to Horatio Dennis and Abby Francis (Caldwell) Bates. She received her B.A. from Smith College in 1917, and her M.A. and doctorate in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

from

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

in 1920 and 1922, respectively. She worked as an instructor in psychology at Wellesley College and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. In 1917 she married Carroll C. Pratt, also a psychologist. The two were both fellows in experimental psychology at Clark University, where they became friends with

Edwin Boring Edwin Garrigues (Garry) Boring (23 October 1886 – 1 July 1968) was an American experimental psychologist, Professor of Psychology at Clark University and at Harvard University, who later became one of the first historians of psychology. A ''Rev ...

and his wife

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

. In 1962, the Pratts moved to

Pennington, New Jersey Pennington is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the south and the Raritan Valley region to the north. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

. They had two children.

Later life

She was an active member of the

Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...

; she organized at least one civil rights workshop with them, opposed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, and protested against the

biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. ...

research program at

Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, it ...

. She published several books of haiku throughout her life, as well as a book of visual designs based on the phonetic qualities of Shakespeare's sonnets. Her haiku have been included in ''The Haiku Anthology'' (Anchor Press, 1974), ''Canadian Haiku Anthology'' (Three Trees Press, 1979), and ''The Haiku Handbook'' (McGraw-Hill, 1985). She was also a calligrapher, and taught calligraphy classes with the Princeton Adult School. She died on 7 July 1992 at the Hunterdon Medical Center.

Works

* "The visual estimation of angles." ''Journal of Experimental Psychology'' (Vol. 9, Issue 2), April 1926, pages 132-140. * ''Formal Designs from Ten Shakespeare Sonnets'' (1940) * ''Caldwells & Clipper Ships'' (1965?) * ''The Light on the Snow'' (1979?)

References

External links

Record for Marjory Bates Pratt's papers
part of th
Maine Women Writers Collection
at the University of New England (Portland campus). {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Marjory Bates 20th-century American psychologists American women psychologists Experimental psychologists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers American women poets English-language haiku poets Smith College alumni 1896 births 1992 deaths People from Waterville, Maine American calligraphers Women calligraphers