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IN MEMORIAM
Michael Rutter (1933–2021)
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Sir Michael (Mike) Rutter, widely known as “the father of
child psychiatry,”passed away on October 23, 2021, in
London, England. Mike was just as much revered as a child
psychologist as he was as a child psychiatrist. From the
beginning of his career, at the Institute of Psychiatry in
London in the 1960s, where he remained until his death,
Mike not only engaged with psychological theories and
research but also made unparalleled contributions to our
understanding of children’s mental health problems.
Born on August 15, 1933, in Lebanon to British parents,
Mike was evacuated to the United States during the second
world war, where he spent 4 years of his childhood with
foster parents with whom he formed a strong bond. Through
this life-changing experience, he developed a transatlantic
identity which contributed to the strong affinity he felt toward
his American colleagues throughout his life. Mike received
his medical degree in 1955, and then his doctorate in medi-
cine in 1963, and published more than 500 scientific articles,
more than 50 books, and won numerous awards and acco-
lades in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around
the world. He was ranked as the 68th most cited psychologist
of the 20th century—not bad for a child psychiatrist!
What was remarkable about Mike was that he made
foundational contributions in so many areas of developmen-
tal psychology, including, but not limited to, the impact of
maternal separation on children, the influence of families and
schools, the psychological consequences of extreme depri-
vation, genetic and environmental influences on autism,
longitudinal studies of children’s mental health, and risk
and resilience. Mike asked questions that really mattered
and ensured that the findings made a positive difference to
children’s lives. He was extremely open-minded. However
controversial an issue, he would be guided by the findings of
research, considering every alternative explanation before
drawing conclusions. He was driven by a strong sense of
social justice, and his values underpinned all that he did to
improve the lives of children and their families.
On June 27, 2022, a memorial for Mike was held in
London with tributes from over 30 of his closest colleagues,
themselves luminaries in child psychology and psychiatry.
Although each speaker recounted their own memories of
Mike, clear communalities arose. In honor of Mike’s pro-
pensity for making lists, they were (a) his immense intelli-
gence, creativity, and clarity of thought; (b) his scientific
rigor; (c) his appreciation for the interplay between biological
and social influences on childhood disorder; (d) the integra-
tion of research, practice, and policy; (e) his dedication to the
young people in his care, some of whom he supported well
into adulthood; and (f) his extraordinary legacy. He inspired
generations of clinicians and academics and contributed to
the well-being of children and adults around the world.
The most moving moments of the day were when parents
and children whose lives he had touched spoke about what he
meant to them—a young woman who had been adopted from
one of the notorious orphanages in Romania after the fall of
the Ceausescu regime, who had met Mike through his study
of Romanian adoptees, and a mother who had been blamed
for causing her child’s autism before Mike’s ground-breaking
research illuminated the role of genetic factors in autistic
disorders. But most touching of all was an interview with
Lady Marjorie Rutter, Mike’s wife for more than 60 years,
with whom he wrote Developing Minds: Challenge and
Continuity Across the Lifespan, and Christine, one of his
daughters. Throughout Mike’s extraordinary career, Marj-
orie, his children, and his grandchildren gave him the stability
and support that his research found to be so vital.
Susan Golombok
University of Cambridge
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American Psychologist
© 2022 American Psychological Association 2022, Vol. 77, No. 8, 970
ISSN: 0003-066X https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001049
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