D. W. Winnicott

D. W. Winnnicott was born in 1896 at Plymouth, Devon. He spent his childhood in Plymouth, where his father was a merchant. Later he went to the Leys School in Cambridge and then to Jesus College, Cambridge. He continued his studies as a medical student at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He was drawn towards clinical medicine and especially towards what is now called paediatrics, and apart from his year as Resident at St Bartholomew's his hospital appointments were all at children's hospitals. At the Paddington Green Children's Hospital he was Physician with his own department, and retired after 40 years. During the last half of this period his department gradually changed into one which was involved particularly with child psychiatry rather than physical paediatrics, the change being due to the fact that he himself had in the meantime taken the psycho-analytic training. He eventually became President of the British Psycho-Analytical Society. He was always interested in the presentation of ideas derived from paediatrics, child psychiatry, and psycho-analysis in language suitable for parents, teachers, social workers, etc. He contributed a series of scientific papers written specifically for psycho-analysts, and these have been collected together in book form. As part of his teaching activities Dr Winnicott was continuously employed teaching psycho-analysts, child psychiatrists, teachers and social workers. He practised in psycho-analysis and child psychiatry until his death in 1971.