Henry tasman lovell: First professor of psychology in Australia, 1929–1945

Abstract

Lovell was the first professor of psychology in Australia and was a pioneer in the teaching of psychology in the modern vein. At the University of Sydney he introduced part-courses in second year in experimental psychology and in abnormal psychology in 1915 and 1916; a full second-year course in 1919; and a third-year pass and honours course, the first in Australia by seven years, in 1925. The son of acountry school teacher, Lovell had his early education in his father's schools, became a pupil-teacher and was subsequently selected for a one-year program at the Training School in Sydney. In 1906 he completed with distinction a BA in the University of Sydney, as an evening student and in 1907 he was awarded the Woolley Travelling Scholarship which took him to Jena where he was awarded the Dr phil in 1909. Successively Assistant Lecturer (1913) and Lecturer in Philosophy (1914), McCaughey Associate Professor of Psychology (1921), and McCaughey Professor of Psychology (1929) in the University of Sydney, Lovell was a very effective teacher and played many important roles in the University and in the community at large. In the later sections of the paper an account of Lovell's psychological views and a list of his publications are given.