Kohlberg, Lawrence (1927–1987)

Life Dates

Lawrence Kohlberg (October 25, 1927–January 19, 1987) was an American psychologist whose theory of the development of moral reasoning made him one of the most significant psychological researchers of the twentieth century. Kohlberg was born in New York City, attended a private school, and worked for a time in the merchant marine. In this capacity he served the Zionist cause by smuggling Jewish refugees into Palestine. In 1948 he was admitted to The University of Chicago, which awarded him a bachelor’s degree after just 1 year. He enrolled in graduate studies at Chicago and began his academic career at Yale University (1956–1961). From 1962 to 1968, he was a professor at Chicago and thereafter at Harvard. In 1971, Kohlberg contracted a debilitating parasitic disease while working in Belize. For the rest of his life he suffered from its effects, including depression. In 1987, he committed suicide by drowning at Winthrop, just outside Boston (Walsh 2000).

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