Harold Lasswell

Harold Lasswell
Born	February 13, 1902 Donnellson, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 18, 1978 (aged 76) New York City, U.S.
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Chicago (Ph.D.)
Thesis	Propaganda Technique in the World War
Influences	Havelock Ellis, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Theodore Reik
Academic work
Discipline	Political science, communications theory
Institutions	University of Chicago, Yale University, City University of New York, Temple University School of Law
Notable ideas	Lasswell's model of communication, content analysis, garrison state, political psychology, policy sciences

Harold Dwight Lasswell (February 13, 1902 – December 18, 1978) was an American political scientist and communications theorist. He earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.^[1] He was a professor of law at Yale University. He served as president of the American Political Science Association, American Society of International Law, and World Academy of Art and Science.^[2]

According to a biographical memorial written by Gabriel Almond at the time of Lasswell's death, and published by the National Academies of Sciences in 1987, Lasswell "ranked among the half dozen creative innovators in the social sciences in the twentieth century." At the time, Almond asserted that "few would question that he was the most original and productive political scientist of his time."^[2]

Areas of research in which Lasswell worked included the importance of personality, social structure, and culture in the explanation of political phenomena. Lasswell was associated with the disciplines of communication, political science, psychology, and sociology – however he did not adhere to the distinction between these boundaries, but instead worked to erase the lines drawn to divide these disciplines.^[3]