Graham, Clarence H. (Clarence Henry), 1906-1971

Graham (1906-1971) was professor of psychology, Columbia University, 1945-1971.

From the description of Clarence H. Graham papers, [ca. 1950]-1965. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 470399457

Clarence Henry Graham was born in Worcester, MA on January 6, 1906. He received his BA in 1927, his MA in 1928, and his PhD in 1930, all from Clark University. He also received an honorary MA in 1943 and PhD in 1958 from Brown University. Clark worked as a psychology instructor at Temple University from 1930-31. In 1932 Graham accepted a position at Clark University. Four years later he moved to Brown University, teaching there from 1936-1945 before relocating to his final position at Columbia University. Graham was very active in the Office of Naval Research and from 1952-53 he took leave as a science liaison officer in London. He participated in numerous government services and was a member of the Applied Psychology Panel of National Defense Research Committee, the Office of Naval Research's Physiological Psychology Panel, the International Union of Biological Sciences' vice president section of Experimental Psychology and Animal Behavior, and the Armed Forces NRC Vision Committee. Graham was a recipient of the Howard Crosby Warren Medal, the Tillyer Medal of the Optical Society of America and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psychological Association.

A psychophysiologist, Graham devoted a large portion of his time and research to vision and visual perception. One of his most well known studies was conducted with Yun Hsia on the issue of color blindness. The study involved a woman who had normal color vision in one eye and dichromatic vision in the other. This was the first documented case of this phenomenon and led to many more studies by Graham and other researchers.

Graham was also involved in research for the military during World War II. A large portion of this research focused on the visual aspects of fire control, but additional areas of focus were the selection process for specialized military personnel and the screening of recruits for emotional instability. Graham was awarded the President's Certificate of Merit for his research and help in these areas.

Graham died on July 25, 1971 after struggling to overcome a series of illnesses.

From the guide to the Clarence H. Graham papers, 1930-1971, (Center for the History of Psychology)