William Brown FRCP (5 December 1881 – 17 May 1952) was a British

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and psychiatrist.

Biography

Brown was born in Slinfold, Sussex. He studied mathematics and philosophy at Christ Church, Oxford. He took medical training at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and graduated

MBBCh Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in Oxford in 1914. He worked as a neurologist in France where he helped develop a treatment for shell-shock in WW1 persons, and later returned to his post at King's College London where he earned a DM in 1918, MRCP in 1921 and was elected FRCP in 1930. In 1936 he became the director of the Institute of Experimental Psychology at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Brown, along with May Smith, Cyril Burt, and John Flügel, were all students of William McDougall while the latter mentioned was a professor at Oxford. He was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and had a lifelong interest in

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

. He served on the board of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

1923-1940. Brown was associated with

Harry Price Harry Price (17 January 1881 – 29 March 1948) was a British psychic researcher and author, who gained public prominence for his investigations into psychical phenomena and exposing fraudulent spiritualist mediums. He is best known for ...

and his

National Laboratory of Psychical Research The National Laboratory of Psychical Research was established in 1926 by Harry Price, at 16 Queensberry Place, London. Its aim was "to investigate in a dispassionate manner and by purely scientific means every phase of psychic or alleged psychic ...

. He attended séances with the medium

Helen Duncan Victoria Helen McCrae Duncan (née MacFarlane, 25 November 1897 – 6 December 1956) was a Scottish medium best known as the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735 for fraudulent claims. She was famous for producing ectopla ...

at the laboratory and concluded she was fraudulent.Valentine, Elizabeth R. (2011). ''Spooks and Spoofs: Relations Between Psychical Research and Academic Psychology in Britain in the Inter-War Period''. History of the Human Sciences 25: 67-90.

Publications

*''Mind and Personality: An Essay in Psychology and Philosophy'' (1970) *''Personality and Religion'' (1946) *''War and the Psychological Conditions of Peace'' (1942) *''Psychological Methods of Healing; An Introduction to Psychotherapy'' (1938) *''Mind, Medicine and Metaphysics: The Philosophy of a Physician'' (1936) *''Science and Personality'' (1929) *''Suggestion and Mental Analysis: An Outline of the Theory and Practice of Mind Cure'' (1922) * William Brown, 'The psychologist in war-time', Lancet (1939), 1: 1288. * William Brown, 'The treatment of cases of shell shock in an advanced neurological centre', Lancet (1918), 2: 197. * William Brown, 'War neuroses', Lancet (1919), 2: 833.

Biography

Publications

References

Further reading