Sigmund Freud
Born May 6, 1856, Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist best known for his theories regarding the subconscious mind and his ground-breaking work in the field of psychoanalysis. His model of human consciousness looked like an iceberg: conscious mind is the tip of the iceberg, the part above the water; the subconscious mind (or unconscious mind), like the part of the iceberg that is hidden below the surface, is many times larger and more powerful. He was the first to theorize that the key to mental health rests in the ability to uncover repressed memories and distorted thoughts that exist in the subconscious mind. He is often called “the father of psychoanalysis” for his pioneering work developing “the psychoanalytic method” as a means to help people gain insight into their subconscious memories, emotions and motivations. He popularized concepts like “defense mechanism,” the “Freudian slip” and “dream symbolism.”