For other people with similar names, see Eric Erickson (disambiguation).
Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson.png
Born Erik Salomonsen
15 June 1902
Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany[1]
Died 12 May 1994 (aged 91)
Harwich, Massachusetts, U.S.[1]
Citizenship
AmericanGerman
Spouse(s) Joan Serson Erikson ​(m. 1930)​
Children
Kai T. EriksonJon EriksonSue Erikson BlolandNeil Erikson
Awards
Pulitzer Prize (1970)
National Book Award (1970)
Academic background
Influences
Ruth Benedict[2]Anna Freud[3]Sigmund Freud[4]Margaret Mead[2]
Academic work
Discipline Psychology
Sub-discipline
Developmental psychologypsychoanalysis
Institutions
Yale University
University of California, Berkeley
University of Pittsburgh
Harvard University
Notable students Richard Sennett
Notable works
Childhood and Society (1950)
Young Man Luther (1958)
Gandhi's Truth (1969)
The Life Cycle Completed (1987)
Notable ideas Theory on psychological development
Influenced
Eric Berne[5]Robert Coles[6]James W. Fowler[7]Howard Gardner[8]James Marcia
Erik Homburger Erikson (born Erik Salomonsen; 15 June 1902 – 12 May 1994) was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human beings. He coined the phrase identity crisis.

Despite lacking a bachelor's degree, Erikson served as a professor at prominent institutions, including Harvard, University of California, Berkeley,[9] and Yale. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Erikson as the 12th most eminent psychologist of the 20th century