The Biography of Erik Erikson
Erick Erickson was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 15, 1902. "His biological father was an unnamed Danish man who abandoned Erik's mother before he was born. His mother, Karla Abrahamsen, was a young Jewish woman who raised him alone for the first three years of his life. She then married Dr. Theodor Homberger, who was Erik's pediatrician, and moved to Karlsruhe in southern Germany" (Boeree, 1997, par. 14). "The development of identity seems to have been one of his greatest concerns in Erickson's own life as well as in his theory. During his childhood, and his early adulthood, he was Erik Homberger, and his parents kept the details of his birth a secret. So here he was, a tall, blond, blue-eyed boy who was also Jewish. At temple school, the kids teased him for being Nordic; at grammar school, they teased him for being Jewish" (Boeree, 1997, par.15).
Ericksons 1941
Ericksons 1915
Ericksons 1956"Erik studied art and a variety of languages during his school years, rather than science courses such as biology and chemistry" (Sharkey, 1902-1994, par.2). He did not like the atmosphere of school, so instead of college he traveled to Europe, and kept a diary. When Erickson wasn't taking art classes, he walked around Europe and slept under bridges.
When he was 25, Erickson began to teach art to children from America that had come to Vienna for Freudian training. While teaching at the school, Erickson met Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud. "Besides teaching art, he gathered a certificate in Montessori education and one from Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. He was psychoanalyzed by Anna Freud herself" (Boeree, 1997, par.17). "While there, he also met Joan Serson, a Canadian dance teacher at the school. They went on to have three children, one of whom became a...