James McKeen Cattell (May 25, 1860 – January 20, 1944) was the first professor of psychology in the United States, teaching at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

At the beginning of Cattell's career, many scientists regarded psychology simply as a minor field of study, or as a pseudoscience like phrenology.

Cattell helped establish psychology as a legitimate science, worthy of study at the highest levels of the academy.

His father, William Cassady Cattell, a Presbyterian minister, became president of Lafayette College in Easton shortly after James' birth.

[2] Cattell entered Lafayette College in 1876 at the age of sixteen and graduated in four years with the highest honors.

At Lafayette, Cattell spent most of his time devouring English literature and also showed a gift for mathematics.

[3] Cattell found his calling after arriving in Germany for doctoral studies, where he was supervised by Wilhelm Wundt at University of Leipzig.

The partnership between Wundt and Cattell proved highly productive; the two helped to establish the formal study of intelligence.

The title of his German dissertation was Psychometrische Untersuchungen (Psychometric Investigation); it was accepted by the University of Leipzig in 1886.

To help himself in the process, he created the Science Press Printing Company in order to produce his journals.

[8] In connection with his eugenicist beliefs, Cattell's own research found that men of science were likely to have fathers who were clergymen or professors.

[9] Cattell believed that he had “inherited ability", but he also credited the influence of his environment, saying "it was my fortune to find a birthplace in the sun.

[9] Cattell's belief in eugenics even motivated him to offer his own children monetary gifts of $1,000 if they married the offspring of a university professor or academic professional.

[11] Cattell's design of mental tests were influenced by Wundt's definition of psychology in regards to the achievements of psychophysics and by Galton's view on the importance of the senses for judgement and intelligence.

[15] Despite the name, two women, Grace Andrews and Charlotte Angas Scott, were listed in this first edition of American Men of Science.

[3] One daughter, Psyche Cattell (1893–1989), followed in her father's footsteps, establishing a small child psychology practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and developing tests to assess the intelligence of infants.