Alfred Binet

Born in Nice, France, in 1857, Alfred Binet became one of the key early figures in psychology. He studied law at first, then turned toward medicine and experimental psychology, building a career around close observation, laboratory work, and a strong interest in how people think and learn.

Binet explored many topics, including memory, attention, suggestibility, and child development. He is most closely associated with the test he developed with Théodore Simon in the early 1900s for the French school system. Their aim was practical rather than decorative: to identify children who might need specialized educational help.

Although later generations linked his name to IQ testing, Binet himself was cautious about reducing intelligence to a single fixed number. He died in 1911, but his influence has lasted far beyond his own era, both in psychology and in debates about education, testing, and human ability.