Finding aid for the David P. Boder papers

Biography of David P. Boder

David Pablo Boder was born in Libau, Latvia on November 9, 1886. In Europe, he studied at Teachers College, Vilna, Lithuania, the University of Leipzig, and attended the Psycho-Neurological Institute in St. Petersburg from 1907 to 1912. He then moved to Mexico, and taught psychology at la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. In 1926 he moved to the United States, and earned a Master's degree from the University of Chicage in 1927, and a PhD from Northwestern in 1934.

In 1927, Boder began teaching evening classes at Lewis College (now called Illinois Institute of Technology). By 1929, Boder was a full professor. By 1935, he was the chair of both the psychology and philosophy departments. IIT honors his memory through the David P. Boder Society, which honors benefactors to the College of Psychology.

In 1946, Boder spent a year traveling through France, Switzerland, England, and Germany to record the memories of 109 Holocaust survivors using an apparatus developed by a fellow IIT professor. This was the first use of electronic recording to document oral history. These records continue to be some of the most compelling primary sources among Holocaust researchers.

Boder was a professor of psychology at IIT from 1927 until 1952, and also served as the director of the Psychological Museum in Chicago from 1937 to 1957. He worked in public health, taking positions at the Department of Mental Hygiene at the Chicago Board of Health, and the Mental Hygiene Clinic for the Ida B. Wells Public-Housing Project in Chicago. He also studied persons affected by the 1951 Kansas City Flood. In 1952 Boder moved to the University of California Los Angeles.

Boder died on December 18, 1961 at the age of 75.

Scope and Content

The David P. Boder papers include a variety of materials from his professional career, including testing materials, coursework, research and research correspondence. Of particular note are photographs capturing Boder teaching, lecturing, working with various instruments in both the Lewis Institute and at the Psychological Museum. Transcripts of his interviews with Holocaust survivors as well as the original wire recordings of these oral histories and those who survived the Kansas City flood of 1951 round out this collection.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Access

Some materials in Box 24 are restricted and require redaction prior to researcher use.

Test materials have been moved to CCHP Test Center.

Wire recordings of Holocaust survivors and interviews with Kansas City Flood survivors have been moved to CCHP Audio Collection.

Instruments and apparatuses have been moved to CCHP Artifacts Collection.

Subject Headings

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Persons:

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Technical Requirements

Wire recordings have been digitized. Please contact CCHP staff for access.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: [identification of item], [folder number, box number], Archives of the History of American Psychology, The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology - The University of Akron

Other Finding Aid

View merged inventory and finding aid for the David B. Boder papers.

Detailed Description of The Collection