Watson, John B. (1878-1958)
John Broadus Watson (1878-1958), the founder of behaviorism, was born January 9, 1878, near Greenville, South Carolina. He spent his preadolescent years in a farm community, where he acquired numerous manual skills and an affectionate familiarity with the behavior of many animals. At about the time his father deserted the family, the Watsons moved into the cotton-mill town of Greenville, which his mother thought would provide a better educational and religious atmosphere for the children. Watson later characterized himself as a mediocre student and a lazy, rebellious teenager (with a couple of arrests to brag about). Nevertheless, he managed to persuade officials at Furman University in Greenville to admit him. An average student at Furman from 1894 to 1899, Watson graduated with an A.M. degree; only philosophy and psychology had interested him at all. His mother's death in 1900 removed any remaining pressure to pursue a career in theology; by then, in any case, he had become antagonistic to established religion. Gordon Moore, his professor in philosophy and psychology, had attended and favorably described the University of Chicago, so Watson wrote to its president about his ambitions to attend a "real university" and "amount to" something professionally.
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