HOW TO USE THE TIMELINE
Scroll through the timeline to discover some of the key moments in the history of the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford.
A complete history of the Department from 1898-2012 can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website.
1898
Henry Wilde, Establishment of the Wilde Readership in Mental Philosophy
1898
GF Stout, 1st Wilde Reader
1904
William McDougall, 2nd Wilde Reader
1921
William Brown, 3rd Wilde Reader
Early Equipment
Equipment used in the early years of psychology were electro-mechanical instruments for recording external body movements. Many psychologists invented their own instruments to pursue their research.
1935
Donation from Mrs Hugh (Anna) Watts to the University for the foundation of an institute
1936
First Institute, 34 Banbury Road, with William Brown as Director
First Institute, facilities
Laboratory and annex, and the Lecture Room also used for practicals
1936
Establishment of a Diploma course
1947
Establishment of the Final Honour School of Psychology, Physiology and Philosophy
1947
George Humphrey, First holder of the Chair of Psychology
1948
Brian Farrell, 4th Wilde Reader
1952
Michael Argyle appointed Lecturer in Social Psychology and established the Social Psychology Lab
1957
Carolus Oldfield, Head of the Institute and of the Psycholinguistics Unit, and 2nd Professor of Psychology
1957
The Institute moves to 1 South Parks Road until 1970
1964
Jeffrey Gray appointed Lecturer
1967
Larry Weiskrantz appointed Head of the Institute, and 3rd Professor of Psychology
1968
Patrick Rabbitt joins the Institute as a Lecturer
1968
Anne Treisman joins the Institute as a Lecturer
1968
The institute acquires its first computer
1968
Richard Dennet appointed as first Administrator
1969
Establishment of a new Chair, the Watts Professorship of Psychology
Jerome Bruner named 1st Watts Professor in 1972
The Early 1970s
Further expansion took place in the early 1970s, including the start of the Final Honour School of EP
1970
Jane Mellanby joins the Department
1971
The Institute moves to the Tinbergen Building at 9 South Parks Road and becomes the Department of Experimental Psychology
1974
Donald Broadbent joins the Department, having previously directed the Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge
1980
Peter Bryant, 2nd Watts Professor
1986
50th anniversary of the founding of the Institute
1990s
A phase of innovation - the BabyLab was established along with a new MSc in Neuroscience
1990
Establishment of the McDonnell-Pew Cognitive Neuroscience and MRC Brain Behaviour Centres
1991
Alan Cowey appointed Director of the MRC IRC in Brain and Behaviour
1993
Kim Plunkett, Founder and Director of new research facility, the Oxford BabyLab
1993
Sue Iversen appointed 4th Professor of Psychology and Head of Department
1994
Establishment of the first Event-Related Potentials (ERP) Lab
1995
First Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) lab established by Alan Cowey, Vincent Walsh and Dick Passingham
1997
The Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) is established by Alan Cowey, John Newsom-Davies and George Radda, with state-of-the-art MRI facilities, later joined by Matthew Rushworth
1997
MSc in Neuroscience introduced with the Wellcome Trust 4-year graduate programme, a join programme between Experimental Psychology and other departments
1998
Dorothy Bishop joins as a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow
2001
Oliver Braddick appointed 5th Professor of Psychology and Head of Department
2001
Visual Development Unit established at Oxford
2001
The Department becomes part of the Medical Sciences Division, providing valuable collaboration in the field of neuroscience while continuing its research work in social psychology and child development with the establishment of new research centres
2001
Miles Hewstone joins the Department and establishes the Centre for the Study of Intergroup Conflict
2002
MSc in Psychological Research established
2005
Nick Rawlins, 3rd Watts Professor
2006
Wilde Readership elevated to Chair of Mental Philosophy
Martin Davies appointed Wilde Professor
2008
Research Assessment Exercise 2008, with 80% of work considered 'world leading' and 'internationally excellent'
2010
Establishment of the Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity (OHBA), with new Magnetoencephalography (MEG) facility
2010
Kia Nobre, Director of OHBA
2010
Opening of the Centre for Developmental Science
2011
Glyn Humphreys appointed 4th Watts Professor and Head of Department
2011
Opening of the Biomedical Services Building and new Biomedical Sciences degree introduced
2011
Establishment of the Oxford Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma (OxCADAT) by David Clark and Anke Ehlers
2012
Glyn Humphreys, Jane Riddoch and Masud Husain establish the Oxford Cognitive Neuropsychology Centre (Oxford CNC)
2013
Start of the final Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics (PPL)
2013
Tracy Tompkins appointed Head of Administration and Finance
2015
The Department of Experimental Psychology receives its first Athena Swan Silver Award
2016
The Department mourns the sudden death of Professor Glyn Humphreys
2016
The Department announces new Graduate Scholarship in memory of Glyn Humphries
2016
The Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity (OHBA) receives new fMRI scanner
2016
Kia Nobre appointed Head of Department
2017
Tinbergen building closed due to the discovery of asbestos, and the Department dispersed into 11 buildings across Oxford
2017
Launch of Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging
2018
Department rehoused in temporary accommodation across five sites: Anna Watts Building, New Radcliffe House, Tinsley Building, The Old Rectory, Sultan Nazrin Shar centre at Worcester College
2018
Experimental Psychology celebrates the first ever LGBTQ+ STEM Day
2020
Matthew Rushworth appointed 5th Watts Professor
2020
COVID-19 impacts the Department
2021
Experimental Psychology's Athena Swan Silver Award renewed
2021
Experimental Psychology celebrates 50th birthday
2021
Ground-breaking ceremony signals start of construction of the Life and Mind Building
2022
Matthew Rushworth appointed Head of Department
2022
New 4-year course, MSci in Psychology, starts
2023
Daniel Freeman appointed Chair of Psychology
2024
Professor Ole Jensen appointed to Professorship of Translational Cognitive Neuroscience