# Boris Sidis

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American psychologist (1867–1923)

Boris Sidis Born (1867-10-12)October 12, 1867 Berdichev, Russian Empire Died October 24, 1923(1923-10-24) (aged 56) Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. Education Harvard University (BA, MA, PhD, MD) Spouse Sarah Mandelbaum Children 2, including William

**Boris Sidis** ([/ˈsaɪdɪs/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English); October 12, 1867 – October 24, 1923) was an American [psychopathologist](/source/Psychopathologist), [psychologist](/source/Psychologist), [physician](/source/Physician), [psychiatrist](/source/Psychiatrist), and [philosopher of education](/source/Philosophy_of_education). Sidis founded the New York State Psychopathic Institute and the *[Journal of Abnormal Psychology](/source/Journal_of_Abnormal_Psychology)*. He was the father of [child prodigy](/source/Child_prodigy) [William James Sidis](/source/William_James_Sidis). Boris Sidis eventually opposed mainstream [psychology](/source/Psychology) and [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud), and thereby died ostracized. He was married to a maternal aunt of [Clifton Fadiman](/source/Clifton_Fadiman), the American intellectual.

Born in the Russian Empire, Sidis emigrated to the U.S. to escape political persecution. According to [Amy Wallace](/source/Amy_Wallace), he was imprisoned for two years. Sidis fled the [pogroms](/source/Pogrom) with his wife and children. He proceeded to complete four degrees at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) and sought to provide insight into why people behave as they do. Sidis died in 1923, age 56.

## Early life

Boris Sidis was born on October 12, 1867, in [Berdichev](/source/Berdychiv), to [Jewish](/source/Jews) parents.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Sidis#endnote_1) Boris emigrated to the [U.S.](/source/United_States) in 1887 to escape political persecution. Due to the [May Laws](/source/May_Laws), he was imprisoned for at least two years, according to [William James Sidis](/source/William_James_Sidis)' biographer, [Amy Wallace](/source/Amy_Wallace). He later credited his ability to think to this long [solitary confinement](/source/Solitary_confinement).[1] His wife, Sarah Mandelbaum Sidis, M.D., and her family fled the [pogroms](/source/Pogroms) about 1889.

## Career and views

Boris completed four degrees at Harvard (a [B.A.](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts), [M.A.](/source/Master_of_Arts), [Ph.D.](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) and [M.D.](/source/Doctor_of_Medicine))[2] and studied under [William James](/source/William_James). He was influential in the early 20th century, known for pioneering work in [psychopathology](/source/Psychopathology) (founding the New York State Psychopathic Institute and the *Journal of Abnormal Psychology*), [hypnoid](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hypnoid&action=edit&redlink=1)/[hypnotic states](/source/Hypnotic_state), and [group psychology](/source/Group_psychology). He is also noted for vigorously applying the principles of [Darwinian evolution](/source/Evolutionary_biology) to the study of psychology.

He vehemently opposed [World War I](/source/World_War_I), viewing war as a social disease, and denigrated the widely held concept of [eugenics](/source/Eugenics). He sought to provide insight into why people behave as they do, particularly in cases of a mob frenzy or religious mania. With the publication of his book *Nervous Ills: Their Cause and Cure*[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Sidis#endnote_2) in 1922, he summarized much of his previous work in diagnosing, understanding and treating [nervous disorders](/source/Nervous_disorder). He saw [fear](/source/Fear) as an underlying cause of much human mental suffering and problematic behavior.

## Personal life

Sidis married Sarah Mandelbaum by whom he had two children. [William](/source/William_James_Sidis) born on April 1, 1898, and Bessie born on February 12, 1908.

Sidis applied his own psychological approaches to raising William in whom he wished to promote a high intellectual capacity. After receiving much publicity for his childhood feats, he came to live an eccentric life and died in relative obscurity. Sidis himself derided [intelligence testing](/source/Intelligence_testing) as "silly, pedantic, absurd, and grossly misleading."[3]

Sidis died on October 24, 1923, at the age of 56.

## Partial bibliography

- *[The Psychology of Suggestion: A Research into the Subconscious Nature of Man and Society](https://archive.org/details/psychologysugges00sidi/page/n2)* (1898)

- *Psychopathological Researches: Studies in Mental Dissociation* (1902)

- *Multiple Personality: An Experimental Investigation into Human Individuality* (1904)

- *An Experimental Study of Sleep* (1909)

- *[Philistine and Genius](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Philistine_and_Genius)* (1911)

- *The Psychology of Laughter* (1913)

- *[The Foundations of Normal and Abnormal Psychology](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Foundations_of_Normal_and_Abnormal_Psychology)* (1914)

- *Symptomatology, Psychognosis, and Diagnosis of Psychopathic Diseases* (1914)

- *The Causation and Treatment of Psychopathic Diseases* (1916)

- *[The Source and Aim of Human Progress: A Study in Social Psychology and Social Pathology](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Source_and_Aim_of_Human_Progress)* (1919)

- *Nervous Ills: Their Cause and Cure* (1922)

## See also

- [Ira Van Gieson](/source/Ira_Van_Gieson) (1866–1913), a collaborator

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Wallace, Amy (1986). *The prodigy: a biography of William James Sidis, America's greatest child prodigy*. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-525-24404-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-525-24404-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Harvard alumni directory / compiled by the Harvard Alumni Directory, an office of Harvard University 1910"](https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b3331642?urlappend=%3Bseq=627). *HathiTrust*. Retrieved 2023-10-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Foundations of Normal and Abnormal psychology](http://www.sidis.net/fnappref.htm) at www.sidis.net

- **[^](#ref_1)** Sidis' birthplace is commonly listed as Kiev. However, a biographical note from his daughter [sidis.net](https://web.archive.org/web/20050517074039/http://www.sidis.net/Borisabout.htm) says he was born in "[Berditchev](/source/Berditchev)," a small town about 150 km SW of Kiev.

- **[^](#ref_2)** His writings are available at [sidis.net](http://www.sidis.net/boris_sidis_archives.htm)

## References

- Wallace, Amy, *The prodigy: A biography of William James Sidis, America's greatest child prodigy*, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. 1986. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-525-24404-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-525-24404-2)

- "Boris Sidis." *Dictionary of American biography base set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936*. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005. [galenet.galegroup.com](http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC)

- See *External Links* for source of much of the details of Sidis's life from unpublished archive documents by his wife and daughter.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Boris Sidis](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Boris_Sidis).

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Boris Sidis](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Boris_Sidis)***.

English [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has original works by or about:

**[Boris Sidis](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en:Author:Boris_Sidis)**

- [Works by Boris Sidis](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/49073) at [Project Gutenberg](/source/Project_Gutenberg)

- ["Boris Sidis Archives"](http://www.sidis.net/boris_sidis_archives.htm)

- ["Nervous Ills Their Cause and Cure" – full text](http://www.sidis.net/nervousillschap1.htm)

- [The works of Boris Sidis – full online texts](https://web.archive.org/web/20070912092411/http://www.sidis.net/BorisBiblio.htm)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Japan Norway Israel Academics CiNii Other IdRef Open Library SNAC Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Boris Sidis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Sidis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Sidis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.