Wayne Edward Oates (June 24, 1917 – October 21, 1999) was an American psychologist and religious educator who is often - incorrectly - considered to have coined the word 'workaholic'.
Born to an impoverished family in Greenville, South Carolina in June 1917, Oates was abandoned by his father in infancy and was brought up by his grandmother and sister while his mother supported them by working in a cotton mill.
At the age of fourteen he was one of a small number of impoverished clever boys selected to serve as a United States House of Representatives Page.
Oates' cross-disciplinary approach combined psychological models with pastoral sensitivity, and biblical teaching.
In 1984 the American Psychiatric Association granted Oates the Oskar Pfister Award for his contributions to the relationship between psychiatry and religion.