Donald G. Paterson

Paterson was born in Columbus, Ohio, the youngest of five children. His father and mother were both completely deaf as a result of childhood illness.[1] Paterson obtained his undergraduate and graduate training at the Ohio State University.[2] He became an instructor in psychology at the University of Kansas, where he met his wife, Margaret Young. During World War I he served as Chief Psychological Examiner and a Captain in the Sanitary Corp of the US Army.[2] After the war he joined the Scott Company, an early type of psychological consulting organizations.[2] In 1921 Paterson joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota, where he worked until his retirement in 1960. Paterson had two children, Philip Paterson and Mrs. Robert C. Becker.[2]

Paterson was a founder and president of the American Association of Applied Psychology, which lasted for 8 years from 1937-1945, and served as the precursor to the multiple divisions of applied psychology within the American Psychological Association, including clinical, consulting, educational, industrial/organizational, and military psychology.[3] Paterson was secretary of the American Psychological Association for six years.[2] He was the primary doctoral advisor to 88 graduate students during his time at the University of Minnesota.[2]