James McKeen Cattell

Born in Easton, Pennsylvania, Cattell graduated from Lafayette College and attended graduate school at several European universities including Gittingen, Leipzig, Paris, and Geneva. In Leipzig he worked as an assistant to Wilhelm Wundt, who established the first psychology laboratory, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Leipzig in 1886.

In 1888, Cattell was offered the first psychology professorship at the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1891 he became chairman of Columbia University's psychology department. At the same time, he was involved in editing and publishing a number of journals, including Science, Scientific Monthly, Psychological Review, American Naturalist, School and Society, Leaders in Education, and the multi-volume reference American Men and Women of Science. In 1921, Cattell decided to form a business to market psychological tests and materials to clients in education, business, and government, which led to his establishment of The Psychological Corporation.