1. Robert Mearns Yerkes was an American psychologist, ethologist, eugenicist and primatologist best known for his work in intelligence testing and in the field of comparative psychology.
20 Facts About Robert Yerkes
1. 2.
Robert Yerkes's works are largely considered biased toward outmoded racialist theories by modern academics.
3.
Robert Yerkes was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1915, the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1923, and the American Philosophical Society in 1936.
4.
Robert Yerkes was born in Breadysville, Pennsylvania.
5.
At Harvard, Robert Yerkes became interested in animal behavior, so much so that he put off further medical training to study comparative psychology.
6.
Robert Yerkes had to supplement his income during the summer for several years by teaching general psychology at Radcliffe College.
7.
In 1907, Robert Yerkes published his first book, The Dancing Mouse.
8.
In 1917, Robert Yerkes served as president of the American Psychological Association.
9.
Robert Yerkes's work was used as one of the eugenic motivations for harsh and racist immigration restrictions.
10.
Robert Yerkes was appointed as an "Expert Eugenic Agent" to The House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, where his work would contribute to the creation of the discriminatory National Origins Formula.
11.
Robert Yerkes had a long and storied fascination with the study of chimpanzees.
12.
Robert Yerkes began by purchasing two chimpanzees, Chim and Panzee, from a zoo.
13.
Robert Yerkes brought them home and kept them in a bedroom where they could eat with a fork at a miniature table.
14.
Robert Yerkes had spent time in 1924 hosted by Rosalia Abreu at her large primate colony in Cuba.
15.
Robert Yerkes was the first person to succeed in breeding chimpanzees in captivity.
16.
Robert Yerkes was accompanied by Harold C Bingham, Josephine Ball and Chim, the bonobo.
17.
Robert Yerkes returned from this visit with advice from Abreu to help in raising and observing chimps on his own.
18.
In 1924, Robert Yerkes was hired as a professor of psychobiology, a field he pioneered, at Yale University.
19.
Robert Yerkes founded the Yale University Laboratories of Primate Biology in New Haven, followed by his Anthropoid Breeding and Experiment Station in Orange Park, Florida, with funds from the Rockefeller Foundation.
20.
Robert Yerkes retired from his position as Director in 1942, when he was replaced by Karl Lashley.