Biographical Note: Moses Ralph Kaufman was born in Beltz, Russia in 1900. His family emigrated to Canada in 1905. Kaufman received his M.D. from McGill University in 1925. After an internship at Manhattan State Hospital, he decided to study neurology, training at Montefiore Hospital from 1926-1927. He continued his training at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital before leaving for Vienna in 1929, where he studied at the University of Vienna Anatomy and Psychiatric Institutes and the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. His personal analysis was begun with Dr. Paul Schilder and finished with Dr. Wilhelm Reich. Dr. Kaufman was a founding member of BPSI, serving as president from 1937-1939 and as chairman of the educational committee from 1934-1942. He volunteered for the US Army during World War II and was awarded two Bronze Stars. After his service with the Sixth Army in the Philippines Dr. Kaufman was appointed director of the department of Psychiatry at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, a post he held until his retirement in 1971. He also served as president of the American Psychoanalytic Association from 1949-1951.
Summary: the collection consists primarily of reprints of articles by Dr. Kaufman. There is a smaller amount of correspondence between Dr. Kaufman and numerous colleagues, including Felix and Helene Deutsch, Martin Peck, Wilhelm Reich, A.A. Brill, and Isador Coriat. Included in the correspondence is a letter from Ernest Jones to Hanns Sach and a letter to Kaufman from Anna Freud (1968). Please note the related collections below, all of which contain additional Kaufman’s materials.
Finding Aid for this collection is available here (viewing it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Related BPSI Collections
Assorted Correspondence, 1872-1996
BPSI History Collections: 25th Anniversary
BPSI History Collections: Scientific Meetings
Hendrick, Ives (1898-1972)
Vertical File
Related Sites
M. Ralph Kaufman “Ill Health” As An Expression of Anxiety In A Combat Unit (excerpt from Psychosomatic Medicine 1947 9: 104-109. Viewing requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
