Biography
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was born September 14, 1849 in Ryazan. His father was a priest, and Ivan's early education was in the church school and later the theological seminary. At age 21 (1870) he began his studies of physiology and other natural sciences. In 1879 he completed his studies at the Academy of Medical Surgery. Then he earned a fellowship which enabled him to continue his studies and research, and in 1883 he earned is doctoral degree for work on the nerves of the heart. This work demonstrated that there was a reflexive regulation of the activity of the heart and circulation.
In 1890 Pavlov began to organize the Department of Physiology and the Institute of Experimental Medicine. He continued this work for the next 45 years until his death.. In 1903 he presented a paper at the International Medical Congress in Madrid on "The Experimental Psychology and Psychopathology of Animals." Here he defined conditioned reflexes and other reflexes, and demonstrated that the conditioned reflex could be regarded as an elementary psychological and physiological process. Pavlov's work was groundbreaking, and he and his students investigated many aspects of the reflex and other topics. He received many awards, including the 1904 Nobel Prize, and in 1912 an honorary doctorate at Cambridge University. He died in February, 1936.