| Code | BPS/GB/22 |
| Thumbnail | 
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| Name | Kenna; John Corbett (1913-2004) |
| Forenames | John Corbett |
| Surname | Kenna |
| Dates | 1913-2004 |
| Parallel Name | John Kenna |
| Other Names | Jack Kenna |
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | Australian |
| DatesAndPlaces | Born Moss Vale NSW, Australia 28 July 1913, died Swansea 9 July 2004
Moss Vale, Cawdor, Young, Bathurst, Sydney NSW 1913 to 1938
Melbourne, Adelaide, Queensland, Brisbane 1939-1948
San Francisco California 1948 to 1950
Hoylake, Merseyside UK late 1950
Bowdon Cheshire, UK 1950 to ?197?
Upper Brynamman, Townhill Road & Uplands Swansea 1979 to 2004 |
| Address | Manchester, England |
| Relationships | Parents: William Joseph Kenna, Schoolmaster (1885-?) Elizabeth May Porter (?-1937)
Wife: Margery Tilford nee Guest (?1902-1975) married June 1941
Wife: Ruth Cleary (1914-) married October 1978
Sister: Edna (1916-?)
Brother: Charles Porter (1922-1996)
Daughter: Margaret Elizabeth ( 1942-)
Grandson: Peter John (nd) |
| Activity | John C.Kenna [1913-2004] born in Australia (Moss Vale, NSW), received all his initial education there.
At Sydney University he obtained a general Arts degree (English and History), a diploma in Education, and an honours psychology degree . After that he became a member of the Australian Council for Educational Research. During World War II he was seconded to the educational branch of the Royal Australian Air Force, where he attained the rank of Officer. At the end of the war he was awarded a scholarship to study abroad.
In the spring of 1948 he embarked upon a postgraduate course in Clinical Psychology at the University of California, in Berkely. In 1950 Kenna came to England, where he was appointed a lecturer in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester.
Clinical Psychology was new field in the UK and only introduced after the war (II) hence Kenna was a pioneer. He took part in several studies of psychological disorders, mostly in collaboration with psychiatrists in his department at Manchester including research into the effects of sensory deprivation, schizophrenia, and especially several aspects of transsexualism.This last survey covered 14 years.
In 1956 Kenna was appointed the British Psychological Society's first honorary archivist, he held the post for 23 years, during which time he recorded many interviews with important figures in the history of British psychology including: T.H.Pear, Cyril Burt, R.B.Catell, Ernest Jones, Anna Freud and Sir Frederic Bartlett, the tapes of which are currently held in the BPS archives.
In 1961, the British Psychological Society held its Jubilee celebrations and John Kenna as BPS Archivist made his own written contribution in a "Supplement to the Bulletin.".
After his retirement, Kenna moved to Swansea, where he became an honorary lecturer at the University. On returning from his last trip to Australia, he became very ill, and never recovered and died on the 9th of July 2004.
Sources: abridged from Geoffrey Latham's obituary for The Psychologist, 2004. A powerpoint celebration of Kenna's life is available.
Compiled by Mike Maskill, BPS Archivist for the History of Psychology Centre. |
| OtherInfo | First Honorary Archivist of the BPS 1956 |
| PublishedWorks | Articles and other publications by JC Kenna 1941-1984
1941. KF Walker, RG Staines, JC Kenna 'Is there a general factor of ...?', The Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy, April 3-19
1942. Educational and psychological problems of evacuation: an analysis of experience in England. Australian Council for Educational Research: Melbourne
1943. KF Walker, RG Staines, JC Kenna. 'Pi-tests and the concept of mental inertia', Character and Personality: A Quarterly Journal for Psycho-diagnostic and Allied Studies 12: 32-45
1945. KF Walker, RG Staines, JC Kenna. 'The influence of scoring methods upon score in motor perseveration tests' ,British Journal of Psychology 35: 51 -60.
1948. Kenna; J.C. & H.W. Hopkins. Report on the Experimental Rural School at Errol Street, North Melbourne. ACER: Melbourne.
1957. Anderson, EW., MW Hamilton, & JC Kenna 'Psychiatric, Social and Psychological Aspects of illegitimate Pregnancy in Girls under Sixteen Years', Psychiatrica et Neurologia: 133 April: 207-220
1959. Anderson, EW., JC Kenna, WH Trethowan, 'An Experimental Investigation of Simulation and Pseudo-dementia', Acta Psychiatrica et Neurologica Scandinavia Supplement 132: 5-42.
1960a. Anderson, E.W., M.W. Hamilton, & J.C. Kenna. 'A study of extra-marital conception in adolescence' Psychiatrica et neurologica 139 (4)
1960b. 'Psychologists and the Royal Society', Quarterly Bulletin of the BPS 40: 10-15.
1960c. 'Psychologists and the British Academy', Quarterly Bulletin of the BPS 41: 9-12.
1960d. 'Portraits of British philosophers and scientists', American Journal of' Psychology 73:468-473.
1961 contributions to H Steinberg ed ' The British Psychological Society 1901-1961, Supplement to the Bulletin of the BPS
1962. J Hoenig, EW Anderson, JC Kenna, R Blunden 'Clinical and pathological aspects of the mnestic syndrome', Journal of Mental Science 108 (465): 541-559.
1963. G Sedman and JC Kenna 'Depersonalization and mood changes in schizophrenia' British Journal of Psychaitry 109 (462): 669-673
1964a. GF Reed and JC Kenna. 'Personality and time estimation in sensory deprivation', Perceptual and Motor Skills 18 (1): 117-118
1964b GF Reed and JC Kenna. 'Sex differences in body imagery and orientation under sensory deprivation of brief duration', Perceptual and Motor Skills 18 (1): 182
1964c. 'Sir Francis Galton's Contribution to Anthropology', Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 94 (2): 80-93.
1964d. JCKenna and G Sedman. 'The subjective experience of time during Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD-25 ) intoxication', Psychopharmacologia 5 : 280-288
1966. 'Ten unpublished letters of William James, 1842-1910, to Francis Herbert Bradley, 1846-1924' Mind 75 (299): 309-331.
1969 '' Chairs of Psychology in British Universities', supplement to The Bulletin of the British Psychological Society: 9-13
1970. J. Hoenig, J. Kenna & A Youd "Social and economic aspects of transsexualism', British Journal of Psychaitry 117: 163-172
1970. J. Hoenig, J. Kenna & A Youd 'Surgical treatment for transsexualism' Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 147: 106-133.
1970. J Hoenig, J Kenna 'Afollow-up study of transsexualists: social and economic aspects' Psychiatrica Clinica 3 (2): 85-100
1973. J. Hoenig & J. Kenna. '.Epidermiological aspects of transsexualism', Psychiatrica Clinica 6: 65 -80.
1973. 'Galton's solution of the correlation problem: a false memory?', Bulletin of the British Psychological Society. 26: 229-30.
1973. J.C. Kenna and M.E. Kenna. 'Published portraits of anthropologists and allied workers, a supplementary list , Current Anthropology 14: 83-101.
1974. J.Hoenig & J.C. Kenna. 'The prevalence of transsexualism in England and Wales', British Journal of Psychiatry 124 (Feb); 181-190.
1974. J.Hoenig & J.C. Kenna. 'The nosological position of transsexualismJ,' Archives of Sexual Behaviour 3 (3): 273-287.
1975. J.C. Kenna and ME. Kenna. 'Published portraits of anthropologists and allied workers, a supplementary list', Current Anthropology 16: 271-281 .
1977 CE Hyde and JC Kenna. 'A male MZ twin pair, concordant for transsexualism5 discordant for schizophrenia', Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 56 (4): 265-275.
1978 J. Hoenig & J.C. Kenna. Verbal characteristics of male and female transsexuals'. Psvchiatrica Clinica 11 (4): 233-236
1979 J.Hoenig & J.C. Kenna. 'EEG abnormalities and transsexual ism', British Journal of Psychiatry 134: 293-300
1981 PJ Huxley, JCKenna, SB Brandon 1981 'Partnership in transsexualism I Paired and nonpaired groups' ,Archives of Sexual Behaviour 10 (2): 143-141.
1981. PJ Huxley, JC Kenna5 SB Brandon 1981. 'Partnership in transsexualism: II. The nature of the partnership', Archives of Sexual Behaviour 10 (2): 143-160.
1984. J.Hoenig & J.C. Kenna. "Transsexualism and Slaters Selective Vocabulary Test', International Journal of Social Psychiatry 30 (3): 207-212.
n.d. 'Brief psychological chronology 1875-1950 ms. BPS archives (The Development of the British Psychological Society with some Preceeding and Contemporary Events; An Annotated Chronology" ) see KENNA/2/1/1
n.d. 'William James and the Gifford Lectures', article under course of revision for Journal of History of Ideas. |
| Source | Sources: abridged from Geoffrey Latham's obituary for The Psychologist, 2004 A powerpoint celebration of Kenna's life is available. |
| Conventions | International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN ISBN 0-9696035-3-3
National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 |