Nemiah was born on November 30, 1918, in Cheshire, Connecticut, and later on moved with his family to Hanover, New Hampshire, when he was young.
During his childhood, while at Hotchkiss School, he decided to pursue a career in psychiatry while reading Sigmund Freud.
His residencies were interrupted when he was drafted into the armed service for two years where he kept his neuropsychiatrist position.
[2] He held the same position at Tufts University, became a member of the faculty, and served as chief of Inpatient Psychiatry Unit for 16 years.
He held weekly lectures on psychopathology and psychodynamics at his alma mater and Massachusetts General Hospital.