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Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was born on May 6, 1856 in a small town Freiberg. His father was a wool merchant with a keen mind and a good sense of humor. His mother was a lively woman. When he was 4 or 5 the family moved to Vienna, where he lived most of his life.

A brilliant child, always at the head of his class, Sigmund went to medical school where he became involved in research under the direction of a physiology professor. Freud concentrated on neurophysiology. He was very good at his research and got a grant to study first with the great psychiatrist Charcot, then with Bergheim. Both these gentlemen investigated the use of hypnosis with hysterics.

In Vienna Freud married his patient Martha Bernays and set up a practice in neuropsychiatry. His books and lectures brought him both fame and ostracism from the traditional medical community. He collected around him a number of very bright students who became the core of the psychoanalytic movement.

Freud immigrated to England just before World War II when Vienna became an increasingly dangerous place for Jews, especially ones as famous as Freud. Not long afterward he died.

Freud made a significant contribution to psychology. He gave it the understanding that some of our motivations may be hidden from conscious awareness. Freud believed that psychological processes, especially hidden conflicts within the mind, motivated much of our behavior.

For nearly fifty years, Freud revised and expanded his ideas into a body of work known as psychoanalysis. This theory included his views on personality and mental disorder, as well as a set of treatment methods.

Freud gradually developed an elaborate theory of personality development and structure based on his observations. He argued that a human personality results from a dynamic struggle between inner physiological drives (hunger, sex, aggression) and social pressures to follow rules, laws and moral codes. The idea that the unconscious mind directs people in their actions revolutionized the perception of the human personality. Besides, Freud called attention to the frequent importance of early life events. His theory also stresses the importance of fantasy for the human psyche.

Freud's ideas were and still are controversial. Even so, he was a groundbreaker who had a huge influence on psychology, sociology and many other fields.