Psychology in Canada one hundred years ago: James Mark Baldwin at the University of Toronto.

Abstract

In 1889, after the death of the revered Professor of Metaphysics at the University of Toronto, George Pax ton Young, a lengthy controversy arose over who would be his replacement. A contingent of alumni wanted the position to go to Young's talented student, James Gibson Hume, but President Daniel Wilson sought the appointment of a graduate of Princeton College, James Mark Baldwin. In the end both men obtained appointments. Baldwin managed to establish a laboratory in which he supervised a small amount ol psycho-physical research beginning in 1891. His own academic interests, however, increasingly shifted to mental development. In 1893 Baldwin resigned primarily because the university failed to provide him with a laboratory instructor. He arranged to have the university hire August Kirschmann who continued the psycho-physical laboratory at Toronto. Also through Baldwin's influence, another successor, Frederick Tracy, became interested in child psychology and taught the subject for many years.Many readers of Canadian Psychology likely do not know that modern academic psychology began in Canada once James Mark Baldwin accepted a professorship at the University of Toronto in the fall of 1889. His predecessor, the Reverend George Paxtuti Young, had been a metaphysician loyal to British idealism. In contrast, Baldwin, who defended the new psychology of Wilhclm Canadian Psychology/Psychologic? raiuulicnne, 33:4

Trouble at Tyson Alley: James Mark Baldwin’s arrest in a Baltimore bordello.

“…28 Baldwin (1890bBaldwin ( , 1890cBaldwin ( , 1890dBaldwin ( , 1891bBaldwin ( , 1892. For valuable accounts of the circumstances surrounding Baldwin's appointment at Toronto, see Green (2004) and Hoff (1992). 29 Baldwin (1891a).…”

Flashbacks in the history of psychology in Canada: Some early "headline" makers.

“…In the case of Baldwin, there is of course an extensive literature including, just recently, a detailed discussion of the “Baldwin Affair” (Horley, 2001), the scandal that ended Baldwin's career at Johns Hopkins University, in the United States, and in effect, in psychology. Some of it, covering his time in Canada, was produced by our Canadian colleagues (Hoff, 1992; Myers, 1982). Therefore, the paper I was asked to give seemed to provide an excellent opportunity to put on record the work of some of these other less well-known pioneers who made such a mark on behalf of Canadian psychology in their time.…”

The Hiring of James Mark Baldwin and James Gibson Hume at the University of Toronto in 1889.

“…The events described here have been outlined before (see, e.g., Averill & Keith, 1999, pp. 184–186; 1 Hoff, 1992, pp. 683–694; McKillop, 1994, pp.…”