Marrow, Alfred J. (Alfred Jay), 1905-1978

Alfred J. Marrow was born on March 8, 1905 in New York City. He earned his MA from Columbia University and his PhD in 1937 from New York University. In 1940, Marrow succeeded his father as President of the Harwood Manufacturing Corporation. Marrow founded the Commission on Community Interrelations in New York and served as its chairman until its dissolution in 1954. He also founded the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Marrow was an industrial psychologist, executive, and activist for social change. His most significant impact on psychology was on industrial/organizational psychology through his long series of studies at Harwood. He also wrote The Practical Theorist: The Life and Work of Kurt Lewin, the definitive biography of his great friend and mentor. Marrow was active in the community, serving as executive chair of the American Jewish Congress, president of the National Academy of Professional Psychologists, director of the New School for Social Research, director of Antioch College, director of Gonzaga University, and fellow of the New York Academy of Science.

Alfred J. Marrow died on March 3, 1978 in New York.

From the guide to the Alfred J. Marrow papers, 1945-1971, (Center for the History of Psychology)