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Hermann Ebbinghaus was born in 1850 to Lutheran merchants in Barmen, Germany. At the age of 17, he entered the University of Bonn, where he developed an avid interest in philosophy. However, his studies were temporarily interrupted in 1870 at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, when he enlisted in the Prussian army. He resumed his studies a year later and received his Ph.D. in 1873.
In 1885, the year of the publication of his most important book, On Memory, he was appointed professor of philosophy at the University of Berlin. Several years later, he accepted a position at Breslau, where he remained until his death in 1909. Ebbinghaus's contributions to psychology are numerous. In addition to establishing two psychology laboratories in Germany, he also founded and edited a major journal that did much to advance psychology in its early days. His famous work on memory set a precedent for experimental psychology. Ebbinghaus helped to bring clear and precise experimental techniques to the science of psychology. He was highly popular as a lecturer, and his sense of humor, informal style, and personal charm endeared him to students and colleagues alike. He died of pneumonia in Breslau at the age of 59. |
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