| Franz Samelson | |
| Birth Date: | 23 September 1923 |
| Birth Place: | Breslau, Germany |
| Death Place: | Manhattan, Kansas, U.S. |
| Citizenship: | United States |
| Fields: | Social psychology |
| Workplaces: | Kansas State University |
| Alma Mater: | University of Munich University of Michigan |
| Thesis Title: | Group pressure and incongruity in the cognitive field as determinants of conformity |
| Thesis1 Url: | and |
| Thesis2 Url: | )--> |
| Thesis Year: | 1956 |
| Doctoral Advisors: | )--> |
| Known For: | Work on the history of psychology |
| Partners: | )--> |
| Children: | Karen Samelson |
Franz Samelson (September 23, 1923 – March 16, 2015) was a German-American social psychologist and historian of psychology.[1]
Samelson was born on September 23, 1923, in present-day Wroclaw, Poland (then known as Breslau, Germany).[1] Prohibited by the laws of Nazi Germany from attending any German universities, he instead attended a photography school in Munich, where he later worked in a factory with prisoners of war. After World War II ended, he began working for the United States Army. He also enrolled at the University of Munich, where he received a diploma in psychology in 1952.[2]
In 1952, he emigrated to the United States, following his older brother Hans. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan in 1956.[2] He joined the faculty of Kansas State University in 1957, where he remained until retiring as Professor in 1990.[1]
Samelson died on March 16, 2015, in Manhattan, Kansas.[1]