Franz Samelson

Franz Samelson
Born	(1923-09-23)September 23, 1923 Breslau, Germany
Died	March 16, 2015(2015-03-16) (aged 91) Manhattan, Kansas
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	University of Munich University of Michigan
Known for	Work on the history of psychology
Spouse	Phoebe Samelson ​ ​ (m. 1955⁠–⁠2015)​
Children	Karen Samelson
Scientific career
Fields	Social psychology
Institutions	Kansas State University
Thesis	Group pressure and incongruity in the cognitive field as determinants of conformity  (1956)

Franz Samelson (September 23, 1923 – March 16, 2015) was a German-American social psychologist and historian of psychology.

Samelson was born on September 23, 1923, in present-day Wroclaw, Poland (then known as Breslau, Germany). Prohibited by the laws of Nazi Germany from attending any German universities, he instead attended a photography school in Munich, where he later worked in a factory with prisoners of war. After World War II ended, he began working for the United States Army. He also enrolled at the University of Munich, where he received a diploma in psychology in 1952.

In 1952, he emigrated to the United States, following his older brother Hans. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan in 1956. He joined the faculty of Kansas State University in 1957, where he remained until retiring as Professor in 1990.

Samelson died on March 16, 2015, in Manhattan, Kansas.

Further reading

• Morawski, Jill (2015-12-11). "Franz Samelson and a Conundrum". Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. 52 (1): 67–70. doi:10.1002/jhbs.21770. ISSN 0022-5061. PMID 26660474.