Hervey M. Cleckley
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Revision as of 08:16, 20 November 2007
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Dr. Hervey Milton Cleckley (1903 - January 28, 1984) was an American psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of psychopathy.
The Mask of Sanity and The Three Faces of Eve
In 1941, Cleckley authored his magnum opus The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality, distinguished by its central thesis, that the psychopath exhibits normal function according to standard psychiatric criterion, yet privately engages in destructive behavior.
In 1956, Cleckley co-authored The Three Faces of Eve with Corbett H. Thigpen, the book serving as the basis for the 1957 film starring Joanne Woodward about Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD).
Career and life
Cleckely was born in Augusta, Georgia and graduated from the Academy of Richmond County in 1921. He graduated in 1924 summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens. He was a Rhodes Scholar and graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1926.
Cleckley then earned his M.D. from the University of Georgia Medical School (now known as the Medical College of Georgia) in Augusta in 1929 and was named professor of psychiatry and neurology at the Medical College of Georgia and the Chief of psychiatry/neurology at University Hospital in Augusta in 1937. In 1955, Cleckley was appointed clinical professor of psychiatry and neurology at the medical college. He was founding chairman of the Department of Psychiatry & Health Behavior at that college as well.
Other notable professional distinctions of Cleckley include Fellow of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and psychiatrist in the trial of Ted Bundy. Cleckley also authored The Caricature of Love: A Discussion of Social, Psychiatric, and Literary Manifestations of Pathologic Sexuality.
