Carl Gustav Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was born in Kessewil, Switzerland, on July 26, 1875. His father Paul was a rural preacher, and began to teach his son Latin when Carl was six years old, stoking his interest in language and literature (Jung was later able to read most European languages and several ancient ones, such as Sanskrit). He was not a particularly good student because he did not like the regimentation of school and was especially averse to competition (at boarding school in Basel he developed a habit of fainting under pressure). After graduating he attended the University of Basel intending to major in archeology, but developed an interest in medicine and studied under renowned neurologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing. As a result, he decided on a career in psychiatry. Upon graduation from the university, he took a job in a Zurich mental hospital and began to specialize in the study and treatment of schizophrenia. He began to teach classes at the University of Zurich, and in addition started his own private practice. It was during this time that he developed what is known today as the system of word association. Jung had long been an admirer of the famed Sigmund Freud, and in 1907 the two met in Vienna. They connected from the beginning, and Freud came away from the meeting convinced that Jung was at the top of the field in psychoanalysis and his "heir apparent". Jung, however, was not entirely convinced that Freud's theories were correct, and it wasn't long before matters came to a head. During a 1909 trip to the United States, things soured and Freud broke off their relationship. The era of World War I was a painful one for Jung personally, but his professional career flowered and it was during this period that he developed his famous theory of personality. After the war he traveled extensively throughout the world, spending much time among primitive tribal societies in Africa and India and visiting and studying many Native American tribes in the U.S. Jung retired in 1946, and after the death of his wife in 1955 he became somewhat reclusive. He died in Zurich, Switzerland, on June 6, 1961.