James, William: - William James was an influential American philosopher and psychologist, born on January 11, 1842, in New York City, and passed away on August 26, 1910, in Chocorua, New Hampshire. He was the first educator in the United States to offer a psychology course, earning him the title of the "Father of American psychology." His works on pragmatism, functionalism, and the psychology of consciousness revolutionized the understanding of human behavior and thought processes. James' philosophical approach was deeply shaped by the works of thinkers like Charles Sanders Peirce and Gustav Fechner, and he in turn influenced future psychologists and philosophers such as John Dewey, B. F. Skinner, Carl Jung, and Richard Rorty. James contributions to the field of psychology were fundamental, bridging the gap between philosophy and empirical psychology. He was also a professor at Harvard Medical School, where he studied and taught between 1864 and 1869. His ideas on the practical application of beliefs and human experience in shaping perception and behavior have had a lasting impact on both philosophy and psychology.