From 1957 through the mid-1970s, John Bowlby, one of the founders of attachment theory, was in close personal and scientific contact with Harry Harlow. In constructing his new theory on the nature of the bond between children and their caregivers, Bowlby profited highly from Harlow's experimental work with rhesus monkeys. Harlow in his turn was influenced and inspired by Bowlby's new thinking. On the basis of the correspondence between Harlow and Bowlby, their mutual participation in scientific meetings, archival materials, and an analysis of their scholarly writings, both the personal relationship between John Bowlby and Harry Harlow and the crossfertilization of their work are described.

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On the basis of her personal reminiscences the author provides a picture of Harry Harlow's personality. Harlow emerges as an unassuming and witty person.Keywords History of psychology . Biography . Harlow I am pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words about the human side of Harry Harlow. I had the privilege of spending a lot of time with Harry Harlow, helping him keep track of his comings and goings. He was an extremely busy man, with an almost surreal out-of-town travel schedule, combined with multiple local obligations. He ran a major primate research laboratory that he had created in the early 1930's.