Background
Carl P. Duncan was born on December 27, 1921, in Presque Isle, Maine. His father, Henry Beecher Duncan, was a farmer and his mother Vivian Howlett Duncan, a schoolteacher.
Carl P. Duncan was born on December 27, 1921, in Presque Isle, Maine. His father, Henry Beecher Duncan, was a farmer and his mother Vivian Howlett Duncan, a schoolteacher.
He also received an Master of Arts degree (1944) and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1947) in experimental psychology at Brown University, both under the direction of Harold Schlosberg. His Doctor of Philosophy thesis, The Effect of Electroshock Convulsions on Learning and Retention in The Rat is regarded as seminal, a classic study in cognitive neuroscience.
Duncan received his Bachelor degree from University of Maine. She received her doctor of medicine degree in 1951, and practiced in adolescent psychiatry. They had no children.
Professor Duncan, after getting his Doctors of Philosophy at Brown, began working at Northwestern University in 1947.
In 1966 he was elected president of the Midwestern Psychological Association. He served as the secretary-treasurer to the Society of Experimental Psychologists from 1970 to 1973.
He was also chair of the Section on Psychology of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1973. From 1972 to 1985, he served as a book review editor for the American Journal of Psychology.
Duncan retired with the title of professor emeritus in 1987, after a 40-year career at Northwestern University and stayed in the Chicago area (specifically, in Libertyville, Illinois) for the rest of his life.
Duncan suffered a fatal fall on August 9, 1999, while trimming a tree.
Served with United States Army, 1942-1943. Member Midwestern Psychological Association (president 1965-1966), American Psychological Association, Society Experimental Psychologists, American Association for the Advancement of Science (vice president 1973-1974), Sigma Xi.
Married Marie Castaldi, July 10, 1948.