# Stanley Milgram

> American social psychologist (1933–1984)

**Wikidata**: [Q208236](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q208236)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Milgram)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/stanley-milgram

## Biography
- Born: August 15, 1933 (some sources list August 14, 1933)
- Died: December 20, 1984
- Nationality: United States
- Education: Queens College; Brooklyn College; Harvard University (includes Ph.D. affiliation)
- Known for: The Milgram experiment (obedience to authority) and the small-world experiment (social network analysis)
- Employer(s): Yale University; Harvard University
- Field(s): Social psychology; experimental psychology
- Memberships: American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Guggenheim Fellowship recipient; AAAS Prize for Behavioral Science Research recipient

## Contributions
Stanley Milgram's most famous contribution is **The Milgram experiment**, a series of social psychology experiments conducted in the United States that studied obedience to authority figures. These experiments revealed how ordinary individuals could be led to inflict harm on others when instructed by an authority figure, influencing ethics standards in research and public understanding of conformity and authority.

He also designed and led the **small-world experiment**, which examined the average path length in social networks. This work provided early scientific support for the concept later popularized as "six degrees of separation," influencing network theory and sociology.

## FAQs

**What was Stanley Milgram's profession?**
He worked as a social psychologist, psychologist, sociologist, and university teacher.

**Where did Stanley Milgram work?**
Milgram was affiliated with Yale University and Harvard University as an academic.

**What awards did Stanley Milgram receive?**
He received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the AAAS Prize for Behavioral Science Research.

**What are Stanley Milgram's most well-known experiments?**
He is best known for The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority and the small-world experiment on social network path lengths.

**What fields did Stanley Milgram contribute to?**
His primary fields were social psychology and experimental psychology.

## Why They Matter
Stanley Milgram matters because his experiments transformed how psychology and the broader public understand human obedience, authority, and social networks. The Milgram experiment is one of the most widely cited and debated studies in psychology, influencing research ethics, informed consent protocols, and institutional review boards. The small-world experiment laid groundwork for modern network science and influenced how sociologists, computer scientists, and technologists study connectedness. His membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and recognition through major fellowships and prizes underscore his lasting scholarly impact. Without Milgram, the ethical frameworks governing human subjects research and the scientific study of social connectivity would have developed differently.

## Notable For
- Designing and conducting The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority
- Conducting the small-world experiment on social network path lengths
- Serving as a university teacher at Yale University and Harvard University
- Fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship
- Receiving the AAAS Prize for Behavioral Science Research
- Holding occupations as a social psychologist, psychologist, sociologist, and university teacher
- Contributing to the fields of social psychology and experimental psychology

## Body

### Early Life and Education
Stanley Milgram was born on August 15, 1933 (some records indicate August 14, 1933) in the United States. He attended Queens College and Brooklyn College for his undergraduate education, later continuing his studies at Harvard University, where he deepened his engagement with social psychology and experimental psychology.

### Academic Career and Affiliations
Milgram built his career as a university teacher and researcher. He held positions at Yale University and Harvard University, both prestigious private institutions in the United States. His academic roles encompassed work as a psychologist, sociologist, and social psychologist, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to studying human behavior.

He was elected a member of the **American Academy of Arts and Sciences**, an honorary society and policy research center founded in 1780, recognizing his significant scholarly contributions.

### Key Research and Experiments

#### The Milgram Experiment
The Milgram experiment is Milgram's most famous body of work. It comprised a series of social psychology experiments conducted in the United States that investigated obedience to authority figures. Participants were instructed to administer what they believed were painful electric shocks to another person, revealing the extent to which individuals comply with authority even when actions conflict with their conscience. This research has had a profound and lasting influence on psychology, ethics in research, and public discourse.

#### The Small-World Experiment
Milgram's small-world experiment examined the average path length for social networks. This study explored how many connections separate any two people in a social network, providing empirical data that influenced the development of network theory and the popular concept of "six degrees of separation."

### Fields of Work
Milgram operated primarily in **social psychology**, a branch combining psychology and sociology that focuses on social influence on human behavior, and **experimental psychology**, which applies experimental methods to psychological research. His interdisciplinary identity also connected him to sociology more broadly.

### Awards and Recognition
- **Guggenheim Fellowship**: A prestigious grant in the arts awarded annually since 1925 in the United States.
- **AAAS Prize for Behavioral Science Research**: Recognizing outstanding contributions to behavioral science.

### Identifiers and Legacy
Milgram is cataloged under numerous authority identifiers, including VIAF (61632899), Library of Congress (n50082722), ISNI (0000000121357672), and many others across international library and academic systems. His Wikidata entry and Wikipedia page document his lasting scholarly footprint, with sitelinks across 51 language editions. He is indexed in biographical databases such as Britannica (biography/Stanley-Milgram) and numerous national library catalogs.

### Death
Stanley Milgram died on December 20, 1984, at the age of 51.

## References

1. Czech National Authority Database
2. BnF authorities
3. [The Fine Art Archive](https://cs.isabart.org/person/109029)
4. Find a Grave
5. Guggenheim Fellows database
6. International Standard Name Identifier
7. CiNii Research
8. Virtual International Authority File
9. [Source](http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.1406)
10. Library of Congress Authorities
11. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
12. Integrated Authority File
13. [BnF authorities](http://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb123997405)
14. CONOR.SI
15. Goodreads