J. C. R. Licklider, born on March 11, 1915, was first and foremost a psychologist. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Washington University in 1937 and 1938, respectively, and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Rochester in 1942. In 1941, he joined the faculty at Harvard University, where he was a researcher in the Psycho-Acoustics Laboratory until 1946 and then a lecturer at the Psychology Laboratories until 1949. At that point, he joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

At MIT in the 1950s, Licklider was first exposed to computers while working in human factors engineering. He immediately realized their potential for transforming society, but he also realized that this transformation could only be achieved by improving the usability of computers. It was during this period that he did some of his most seminal and influential work.

"Man-Computer Symbiosis"