Ellis, Havelock

Ellis, Havelock (Henry Havelock Ellis), 1859–1939, English psychologist and author. He became a qualified physician but devoted himself to scientific study and writing. Although the first volume of the Studies in the Psychology of Sex (7 vol., 1897–1928; completed ed. 4 vol., 1936) was banned on charges of obscenity, the series—Ellis's major work—constituted a valuable contribution to the study of sex problems and had an important influence in changing the public attitude toward them. In 1891, Ellis married Edith Lees. The story of their marriage is the chief theme of his My Life (1940). His other works include, besides poems and essays, A Study of British Genius (1904), The Dance of Life (1923), and Man and Woman (rev. ed. 1934).

See biographies by J. S. Collis (1959) and A. Calder-Marshall (1960).

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