Carl Jung is often referred to as one of the founding fathers of psychology. He's been called everything from a sinner to the person who helped revolutionized psychology. After dedicating more than half of his life to psychology he finally received recognition. .

             Carl Jung was born in Kesswil on Lake Constance in Switzerland, on July 26, 1875(1). He was the oldest and first surviving child of his parents. Two brothers died as infants before jung was born. Jung's father was a Protestant clergyman as were his eight uncles. His father was also a philologist (Unknown, 1999). Especially concerned with his father's failing belief in religion, he tried to communicate to him with his own experiences of God (Unknown, 1999). His father's disposition was an irritable one and he was often difficult to get along with (Nordby, 1975). His mother suffered from a neurotic disorder and often fought with his father, which made her inaccessible most of the time. When the child could not take his mother's depressions and his parents' fights, he sought refuge in the attic, where he played with a wooden mannequin. His teenage years were characterized by confusion and inquisitiveness, especially about religion. .

             In 1895 he began his college studies at the University of Basel. With the history of religion in his family the choice of a career was a difficult one. Jung seemed destined to become a minister, for there were a number of clergymen on both sides of his family. In his teens he discovered philosophy and read widely, and this, together with the disappointments of his boyhood, led him to forsake the strong family tradition and to study medicine and become a psychiatrist (Unknown, 1999). He began studying archeology, however his interests changed towards medicine and in 1900 he moved to the University of Zurich. He began his career in 1900 as an assistant to Eugen Bleuler at a psychiatric clinic at the University of Zurich.