Melanie Klein Timeline

Melanie Klein 1882 - 1960

Home Timeline Marriage of Moriz Reizes and Libus...Melanie Reizes born in Vienna Death of her elder sister, Sidonie Death of her father, Melanie 18 yrs Engagement to Arthur Klein Jones founds London Psycho-Analy...Death of loved elder brother, Eman...Idea Idea Idea Idea Idea Idea Idea Idea Idea Publication of ‘Narrative of a Child...Publication of ‘Envy and Gratitude’Foundation of The Melanie Klein Trust Publication of ‘Developments in Psy...Publication of ‘Contributions to Psyc...Extraordinary Meetings of the British...Analysis of ‘Richard’ and return to L...Moves to Pitlochry, Scotland becau...Freud moves to London Publication of ‘Love Hate and Repa...Birth of first grandchild, Michael Death of her son Hans, aged 27 Publication of ‘The Psychoanalysis o...Elected to membership of British Psy...Moves to England Death of Karl Abraham after a shor...Visits London to give a series of lect...Meets Alix Strachey First IPA congress paper on ‘The tec...Final separation from Arthur Klein Melitta marries Walter Schmideberg Begins analysis with Karl Abraham Birth of son, Hans Family moves to Budapest 1st paper published Death of Melanie Klein Reads Freud's paper ‘Uber den Tram’Marries Arthur Klein Birth of daughter, Melitta Birth of son, Erich Death of her mother, Libussa Begins analysis with Sandor Ferenzi First paper to the Budapest Psycho...Husband, Arthur, moves to Sweden Moves to Berlin Membership of the Berlin Psychoan...

Melanie Klein Timeline

Melanie Klein 'The power of love - which is the manifestation of the forces which tend to preserve life - is there in the baby as well as the destructive impulses, and finds its first fundamental expression in the baby’s attachment to his mother’s breast which develops into love for her as a person. My psycho-analytic work has convinced me that when in the baby’s mind the conflicts between love and hate arise, and the fears of losing the loved one become active, a very important step is made in development. These feelings of guilt and distress now
enter as a new element in the emotion of love'.

Love, Guilt and Reparation
(1937), p.311.

Melanie Klein became famous as a pioneering child psychoanalyst whose work from the 1920s until her death in 1960 shed vivid new light on the emotional life of infants and children.
Born in Austria in 1882, she moved to Britain in 1926 and soon became a controversial but powerful presence in the British Psychoanalytical Society, in London. Together with a group of brilliant students (including Hanna Segal, Wilfred Bion and Herbert Rosenfeld) she did pathbreaking work in the understanding and treatment of narcissistic disorders and the psychoses. Since her death Melanie Klein's ideas have been further developed by those she taught or influenced, in many parts of the world.