Arthur Benton

Arthur Benton, beloved husband of the late Rita, died December 27, 2006 from complications of emphysema, in Glenview, Illinois.Loving father of Raymond Benton (Nina), Abigail Sivan (Milton Harris), and Daniel Benton (Nancy Hauserman). Devoted grandfather of Jeffrey Benton, Ori Sivan (Claudia Regojo), and Ofer Sivan (Amber Neville). Fond brother-in-law of Joan Rogers.

He was born October 16, 1909 in New York City. Dr. Benton received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University in 1935. He acquired his training as a psychologist at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic of New York Hospital. Early in 1941, Benton volunteered for service in the U.S. Navy and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the medical department. His active duty lasted until 1945, followed by many years of service in the U. S. Navy Reserve, retiring at the rank of Captain.

In 1946, Benton accepted an appointment as associate professor of Psychology at the University of Louisville. In 1948, he moved to the University of Iowa, as professor and director of graduate training in clinical psychology. In 1958 he became professor of psychology and neurology, retiring in 1978, at which time the Benton Laboratory of Neuropsychology in the Division of Behavioral Neurology was dedicated. At Iowa he supervised 46 doctoral dissertations and 24 master’s theses.

He was president of the American Orthopsychiatric Association (1965), the International Neuropsychological Society (1970), and secretary-general of the Research Group on Aphasia of the World Federation of Neurology (1971-78). He held appointments as visiting scientist or scholar at the University of Milan (1964), the Neurosurgical Clinic, Hospital Sainte-Anne, Paris (1968), the Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem (1969), the Free University of Amsterdam (1971), the University of Helsinki (1974), the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (1974), the University of Melbourne (1977), L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Paris (1979), the University of Victoria, British Columbia (1980), the University of Minnesota Medical School (1980), and the University of Michigan (1986). He received honorary doctorates from Cornell College (1978) and the University of Rome (1990).

His awards include the Distinguished Professional Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association (1978), the Distinguished Service and Outstanding Contribution Award of the American Board of Professional Psychology (1985), the Outstanding Scientific Contribution of the International Neuropsychological Society (1981), the Samuel Torrey Orton Award of the Orton Dyslexia Society (1982), and the Distinguished Clinical Neuropsychological Award of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (1989). In 1992 he received the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Application of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation. The citation for this award reads in part: “For lifetime contributions that include pioneering clinical studies of brain-behavior relations. He introduced novel and objective psychological assessment techniques that expanded our understanding of the difficulties manifested by neurologically compromised patients. He broadened the applications of psychology and in the process opened up a new field of study and practice, clinical neuropsychology.”