Walter Van Dyke Bingham papers

Collection

Identifier: MC 17

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection encompasses a large portion of Walter Van Dyke Bingham’s bibliography, containing publisher’s copies of many of his articles from 1913-1953. One of the key topics he discusses is military psychology of soldiers during and after World War II, and other articles convey his interest in the psychology of college students and industry. Also included are some correspondence, photographs, and other writings about both Bingham and his wife, Millicent Todd Bingham.

Dates

1913-1963

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research; however, certain materials are very fragile and require Archives staff for handling, or use may be restricted altogether.

Biographical / Historical

Excerpted with edits from The New York Times, Wednesday, July 9, 1952:

Born in Swan Lake City, Iowa, he was in 1901 graduated from Beloit College. Dr. Bingham received a Master’s degree in 1907 from Harvard, and a doctorate from Harvard, and a doctorate from the University of Chicago the next year. Until 1924, he had taught psychology at several colleges and universities, including the University of Chicago, Teachers' College of Columbia University, Dartmouth College and Carnegie Institute of Technology.

He then moved into the field of industrial psychology, in which he remained active until World War II. Having served the army as a psychologist in the First World War, Dr. Bingham was recalled by the War Department when World War II broke out to serve on the Army's National Research Council on Classification of Military Personnel. At the same time he served the Adjutant General's office as chief psychologist. For his war service, Dr. Bingham received the Secretary of War's emblem for exceptional civilian service.

From 1946 to 1948, he was chairman of the Council of Advisers to the Director of Personnel and Administration of the Army's General Staff. Since 1949, he had served the Secretary of Defense as a consultant on personnel policies. Dr. Bingham was past president of the American Association of Applied Psychology and past secretary of the American Psychological Association.

He was married to Mrs. Millicent Todd Bingham, a noted authority on the poetry of Emily Dickinson, and had a brother, Louis L. Bingham of Los Angeles. Walter Van Dyke Bingham died in July, 1952 at age 72.