Biography

Abraham Maslow was born in 1908, the oldest of seven children. His father, Samuel Maslow, had immigrated to the United States from Russia and eventually settled in New York City, where he went to work repairing barrels. The family lived in Brooklyn during Abe's childhood, in working-class neighborhoods that were predominantly Jewish.

In later years Maslow would describe his childhood as rather unhappy. His parents' marriage was not a good one, and they divorced when Abe was a young adult. He was not close with his father, who spent relatively little time at home when Abe was a child. Abe's relationship with his mother was even worse. He later described her as selfish, ignorant, and hostile. Though he and his father grew closer in later years, he never reconciled with his mother and saw very little of her after he left home.

From an early age, Abe showed an aptitude for learning. He...