Lasswell, Harold D. (1902–1978)

Harold Dwight Lasswell, recognized by the American Council of Learned Societies as “master of all social sciences and pioneer in each” (Lasswell 1962: back cover), coined the term policy sciences (along with Daniel Lerner) in his indefatigable effort to integrate knowledge with action. Lasswell figured prominently in this interdisciplinary movement for five decades, and made notable contributions to the fields of political science, law and jurisprudence, philosophy, psychology, economics, sociology, anthropology, and communication.

Lasswell was born in Donnellson, Illinois. His father was a Presbyterian minister, and his mother was a schoolteacher. He received his bachelor degree at age twenty years and four years later his doctorate from the University of Chicago. His distinguished career began in 1922 at the University of Chicago, where he was a ...