Thomas Szasz

Thomas Szasz was a Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic who was one of the most influential critics of psychiatry in the 20th century. He argued that mental illness is a myth and that psychiatry is a form of social control. His work has been highly controversial, but it has also had a profound impact on the way we think about mental illness and psychiatry.

Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1920
* Immigrated to the United States in 1938
* Received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1944
* Taught psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University from 1956 to 1990
* Wrote several books, including The Myth of Mental Illness (1961) and Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry (1963)
* Argued that mental illness is a myth and that psychiatry is a form of social control
* His work has been highly controversial, but it has also had a profound impact on the way we think about mental illness and psychiatry
* Died in Manlius, New York in 2012