Born in Germany in 1902 of Danish parents, Erik H. Erikson was one of the leading figures in the field of psychoanalysis and human development. His clinical practice included the treatment of children and he made close studies of the process of growing up in a variety of social and cultural settings. He was Professor of Human Development at Harvard University, and Senior Consultant in Psychiatry for the Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco. He died in 1994.