Gordon Willard Allport: A tribute

In tribute to Gordon Allport, this article discusses four interrelated topics, First, Allport's life at Harvard is briefly described. Next three interwoven features of his work are advanced to explain why his contributions to psychology are both unique and lasting. (1) His work offered a broadly eclectic balance of the many sides of psychology. (2) He repeatedly demonstrated the ability to formulate the discipline's central problems for the future and to propose innovative approaches to them. And (3) Allport's entire scholarly work presents a consistent, seamless and forceful perspective. These three points are then applied to his classic work The Nature of Prejudice. Though it was his most explicit attempt to influence public opinion, this famous volume also is balanced, ahead of its time, and elegantly written. It has organized the study of prejudice over the last half century. The article concludes with an explanation in personal terms for why those who knew him remember him so warmly 30 long years after his death.