Mary Henle

Schooling and life

Mary Henle was born to a Jewish family on July 14, 1913, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her family emphasized education. Mary Henle's mother Pearl Hahn Henle was a physician. Pearl's father, without being asked, enrolled Pearl into the study of medicine where she became one of the best physicians of the time. Henle's father Leo immigrated from Stuttgart, Germany to the United States in 1880 at the age of 15. Leo Henle moved to the United States for economic reasons and to pursue his dream of becoming a scientist. Unable to become a scientist, he became a businessman although he continued his education. Growing up in a stimulating home environment encouraged Henle and her siblings to achieve academically. Her brother Paul became a professor of philosophy and her sister Jane studied archeology. Henle entered Smith College in 1930, earning a bachelor's degree in 1934. She earned a bachelor's degree in French and a master's degree, in 1935, in psychology. While pursuing her master's degree, Henle met with James J. Gibson, Eleanor J. Gibson and Kurt Koffka, all renowned in psychology. Henle's encounter with Koffka aroused her interest in Gestalt psychology, motivating her to want to know more about the subject. Henle went on to earn a Ph.D. at Bryn Mawr College. The college hired her as an assistant for Harry Helson. Under Helson she developed a solid understanding of experimental methods. Henle then met Donald W. MacKinnon (who had studied Gestalt psychology in Berlin), which led to her meeting Kurt Lewin. Lewin introduced her to the experimental methods he used in his research in social psychology.

After Henle completed her doctorate in 1939, she obtain a position as research assistant at Swarthmore College, working for Robert B. MacLeod. At Swarthmore, she met Wolfgang Köhler. MacLeod, who had studied in Berlin, invited Köhler to Swarthmore. Kohler taught at Swarthmore until 1955. Henle attended Köhler's seminars and was involved in experimental research with him. A close intellectual relationship with Köhler developed and lasted until his death in 1967. In 1941 Henle obtained an academic position at the University of Delaware. She worked at that university for one year, until the mobilization for the Second World War opened many more positions for psychologists.

In 1942 Harry Helson asked Henle to return to Bryn Mawr, where she first taught psychology to graduate students. After two years of teaching, Henle was appointed to the psychological institute of Sarah Lawrence College (1944–1946). In 1946 Solomon Asch invited Henle, on Köhler's recommendation, to become a professor at the New School for Social Research in New York. She remained there for the rest of her career (1946–1983). At the New School, she published empirical research and advanced Gestalt psychology.

In an autobiographical retrospective Henle paid tribute to the many positive, supportive circumstances and assistantships that she had received that helped to advance her scientific career. But she had not forgotten the difficulties that she faced as a woman and as a Jew in the academic world of the United States, especially in the 1930s.