born Jan. 21, 1887, Tallinn, Estonia, Russian Empire
died June 11, 1967, Enfield, N.H., U.S.
German-U.S. psychologist.
His studies of problem solving by chimpanzees ( The Mentality of Apes , 1917), in which he examined learning and perception as structured wholes, led to a radical revision of existing theory, and Köhler became a key figure in the development of Gestalt psychology . He continued his research during the 1920s and early '30s at the University of Berlin, publishing Gestalt Psychology (1929, rev. 1947), but emigrated from Germany to the U.S. after the Nazi takeover and taught at Swarthmore College (1935–55). His other writings include Dynamics in Psychology (1940), The Place of Values in a World of Facts (1938), and The Task of Gestalt Psychology (1969).