William Dunlop Tait (1880-1945) was the founder of the Department of

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 betwe ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. He served as the Department Head from 1924 to his death in 1944. Originally from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, he earned his bachelor's degree at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, then went to the U.S. for graduate work, taking a PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

under the supervision of

Hugo Münsterberg Hugo Münsterberg (; June 1, 1863 – December 16, 1916) was a German-American psychologist. He was one of the pioneers in applied psychology, extending his research and theories to industrial/organizational (I/O), legal, medical, clinical, edu ...

. He was appointed to a Lectureship in the Philosophy Department at McGill in 1909, and he founded McGill's first experimental psychology laboratory in 1910. Tait was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1914, but clashed mightily with the Head of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, William Caldwell. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Tait commanded the 7th Canadian Siege Battery, which fought at the Battles of

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

Hill 70 The Battle of Hill 70 took place in the First World War between the Canadian Corps and five divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France b ...

, and Passchendaele, among others. In April 1924, the university president, Arthur Currie, agreed to Tait's long demand that psychology be separated from Philosophy and given its own Department. Simultaneously, Tait was also promoted to Professor and made Head of Psychology. On October 19, 1926, Tait invited

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

, who was then performing in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, to lecture at the McGill Union (now the

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum (french: Musée McCord Stewart) is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history. The museum, whose full name is McCord Museum of Canadian His ...

) on the frauds perpetrated by psychics and spiritualist mediums. Three days after this lecture, J. Gordon Whitehead, a McGill student who had been invited to Houdini's dressing room at the Princess Theatre in Montréal, asked Houdini if he could withstand punches to the stomach. Houdini causally answered that he could, whereupon Whitehead attacked him. The assault injured Houdini so severely that it is said by many to have led to his death in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

just nine days later, on October 31. (There remains, however, much controversy over the exact cause of Houdini's death.) Although Tait was responsible for bringing experimental psychology to McGill, his research was mostly applied in character, focusing especially on educational psychology.Tait, William Dunlop. (1929). Science and education. ''The Scientific Monthly, 29''(2), 132-136.

References

Academic staff of McGill University Dalhousie University alumni Harvard University alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, William