| AdminHistory | Professor Seth was born on 23 April 1905 and grew up in Morningside in Edinburgh, where he attended the Royal High School.
He initially read English at the University of Edinburgh and later went on to study Psychology at PhD level, researching language acquisition and speech in children.
He held several awards: he received a Dickson travelling scholarship and spent time in Paris studying the French educational system – and was to remain a lifelong Francophile.
He subsequently secured a Rockefeller Research Fellowship and carried out research at Yale University, the Columbia Neurological Centre and the Institute of Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota.
George Seth was a junior lecturer in the psychology department at the University of Edinburgh, and, from 1936, a lecturer in psychology at University College in Cardiff where he also served as Psychologist to the local authority.
In 1941, in addition to his teaching duties, with the support of the Welsh Board of Health, he set up a peripatetic psychological service for children evacuated to Wales.
In 1946, George Seth was appointed lecturer in psychology at QUB under the aegis of the Department of Education. He was made senior lecturer in 1952 and professor in 1958. He delivered an inaugural lecture on The Ecology of Psychology on 3 February 1960. He retired in 1971 and was made an Emeritus Professor in 1972. He enjoyed a lecture tour of New Zealand in 1975.
George Seth was also an active member of the BPS and served as president from 1967-68. In 1956 he had been instrumental in setting up the Society’s Northern Ireland branch.
In Edinburgh, George Seth met and married his wife May (née Dods). They were blessed with four children (Andrew, Loudon, Alasdair and Margaret) and later eight grandchildren. May Seth spent much of her time as a volunteer working on cross-community schemes: she was a long-time president of the Northern Ireland Association of Youth Clubs (now Youth Action Northern Ireland) and set up a residential training centre and retreat. The family lived happily in Osborne Park, and Prof Catriona Seth has many happy memories of her grandfather, his famous gold pocket watch (which is shown in his portrait), his allergy to early morning classes and playing with her sister around Lennoxvale where the psychology department used to be located. George Seth died in Belfast on 28 July 1990. Although he may have been a man of small stature (5ft 1inch), he made a great impression on his students and fellow colleagues. Without him, we would not be able to celebrate 55 years of Psychology at Queen’s.
Source: Queen's University, Belfast website: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/psy/News/Title,447483,en.html
article: "School of Psychology learns about its roots during 55 year celebrations" |