Copyright © 2020 The Trustees of Indiana University on behalf of the Kinsey Institute. Kinsey’s inquiries into human sex life led him to found the institute and to publish Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). He became a full professor in 1929 and director of the university’s Institute for Sex Research in 1942; it was renamed the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction in 1982. Dr. Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist, professor of entomology and zoology, and sexologist. Updates?

Kinsey, a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (B.S., 1916), and of Harvard (doctor of science, 1920), taught zoology and botany at Harvard before joining the faculty of Indiana University as an assistant professor of zoology in 1920. | Copyright Complaints | Privacy Notice | Accessibility Help, National Research Council’s Committee for Research on the Problems of Sex, Archive of media response to the Kinsey Reports. Both volumes featured the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale—more commonly known as "The Kinsey Scale.". Incorporating as a non-profit entity helped protect research data, enable more avenues of research funding, and ensure a more stable and sustainable environment for the research collections and library. ", In January of 1948, W. B. Saunders and Company published the first volume of the results of the ISR research team: Sexual Behavior in the Human Male.

Earlier that year, he gave an interview to NBC News and interviewed his last two subjects. Although interviews were carefully conducted and certain statistical criteria met, the studies were criticized because of irregularities in sampling and the general unreliability of personal communication. The University believes that the human race has been able to make progress because individuals have been free to investigate all aspects of life. Alfred Kinsey; Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey. Increased literacy and the influence of mass media…. The new institute was located in IU's Biology Hall (now Swain Hall East) with Kinsey, Paul Gebhard, Clyde Martin, and Wardell Pomeroy serving as trustees.

Dr. Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist, professor of entomology and zoology, and sexologist.

The institute was sponsored jointly with the university by the Rockefeller Foundation (until 1954) and the National Research Council. In 1938, he began teaching "Marriage and Family," a course for senior and married IU students. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. All rights reserved. After the release of Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, Wells said: "Indiana University stands today, as it has for 15 years, firmly in support of the scientific research project that has been undertaken and is being carried out by one of its eminent biological scientists, Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey.

Corrections? Alfred Kinsey, in full Alfred Charles Kinsey, (born June 23, 1894, Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.—died August 25, 1956, Bloomington, Indiana), American zoologist and student of human sexual behaviour.. Kinsey, a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (B.S., 1916), and of Harvard (doctor of science, 1920), taught zoology and botany at Harvard before joining … In 1947, he founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, which is now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. For the next 20 years, Kinsey studied gall wasps, specializing in taxonomy and individual variation. Your support will help the Kinsey Institute advance research and education in the science of love, sexuality, gender, and sexual health, and give our diverse field of researchers the resources they need to make new discoveries. These reports, based on 18,500 personal interviews, indicated a wide variation in behaviour. Sexuality and intimate relationships are essential to our individual and collective well-being. It further believes that only through scientific knowledge so gained can we find the cures for the emotional and social maladies in our society… I agree in saying that we have large faith in the values of knowledge, little faith in ignorance." "We are the recorders and reporters of facts—not the judges of the behaviors we describe. Dr. Kinsey arrived at Indiana University in 1920—a year after receiving his Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... …1938 by the American sexologist Alfred Charles Kinsey at Indiana University in Bloomington, undertook the study of human sexual activity. The complementary work, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (W.B.
Consult this page for a list of publications of the sex research team prior to the establishment of the institute (1941-1946) and during Dr. Kinsey's time as Director (1947–1956). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.

According to former Kinsey Institute Director June Reinisch, "There would be no Kinsey Institute without Herman B Wells."

The only other country for which comprehensive data…, The Kinsey studies showed considerable social class differences in sexuality in the United States, chiefly in that the lower class was more tolerant of nonmarital coitus. Omissions? The wildly popular volume quickly reached number two on the New York Times Bestseller’s List with royalties going back to ISR for continued research.


Dr. Kinsey passed away unexpectedly at age 62 on August 25, 1956. During this time, Kinsey’s study into the subject of sex increased and he began collecting sex histories to strengthen his research. During his tenure as president of Indiana University, Wells doggedly took on Kinsey's detractors in one of the most heralded instances of the protection of academic freedom in the mid-20th century. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Charles-Kinsey, National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Alfred C. Kinsey: A Pioneer Of Sex Research, Alfred C. Kinsey - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. By 1947, the committee had funded the Kinsey team with a $40,000 grant.

The books became known in the media and popular culture as the 'Kinsey Reports'. All told, Dr. Kinsey personally took 7,985 of the approximately 18,000 sex histories gathered by the research team. On April 8, 1947, Kinsey and the research staff incorporated as the Institute for Sex Research (ISR). Alfred Kinsey, in full Alfred Charles Kinsey, (born June 23, 1894, Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.—died August 25, 1956, Bloomington, Indiana), American zoologist and student of human sexual behaviour.

Saunders), followed in 1953. Much of the following discussion rests on the findings of the Institute for Sex Research, which constitute the most comprehensive data available. In 1947, he founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, which is now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. More recent studies indicate that these class differences have rapidly broken down. For more, see Alma Pater: Herman B Wells and the Rise of Indiana University. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Until then, he had paid for materials out of his own pocket. In 1948, Kinsey sold the contents of his research library to ISR for $1.00. Three years later, Kinsey had gathered nearly 2,000 sex histories and earned a $1,600 grant from the National Research Council’s Committee for Research on the Problems of Sex.