Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was born in neuchatel, switzerland on 9 august 1896, the son of a professor of medieval literature. a precocious student, Piaget began working in the local natural history...

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was born in neuchatel, switzerland on 9 august 1896, the son of a professor of medieval literature. a precocious student, Piaget began working in the local natural history museum at the age of 10, getting paid in specimens! While in high school he published his fi rst scientifi c paper, on the sighting of an albino sparrow. after high school, he studied natural sciences at the university of neuchatel, where he obtained a Phd in zoology at the age of 21. after a semester at the university of Zurich studying psycho-analysis, he went to france, working with a colleague of alfred binet (the developer of the fi rst standardized intelligence test). there, he did his fi rst experimental studies of cognitive development. in 1923, he married valentine châtenay; the couple had three children, who became part of many of Piaget’s pioneering studies of intellectual development. Over the next 30 years, he held a number of different positions in psychology, sociology and history of science, sometimes being cross-appointed at various institutions. in 1955, he created and directed until his death the international center for genetic epistemology. throughout his career, he was concerned with epistemology (the study of the origins of knowledge), both experimentally and as a philosophical issue. during a long and prolifi c career, he published more than 60 books and several hundred articles, receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees. he died in geneva on 16 september 1980.