Benjamin Bourdon

Benjamin B. Bourdon (1860–1943) was a French psychologist born in Normandy on August 5, 1860. He is often referred to as a pioneer of experimental psychology in France. Bourdon founded the first university established Experimental Psychology and Linguistics laboratory at the University of Rennes in 1896 and integrated the first experimental psychology course in a provincial university in 1891. His life is known by means of his (1932) autobiography in Carl Murchison`s compilation of autobiographies (1932) and biographies by Nicolas, S. (1998), Beuchet (1961), and Piéron (1961). The accounts of Bourdon’s life describe him as one of the few French advocates of the new scientific psychology.