Samuel Kirk

In 1963, Kirk delivered a speech to an education conference and was the first to use and define the term “learning disability”. This speech had a monumental effect on social policies and also helped name Kirk to the federal post by John F. Kennedy who had a sister who had a mental disability (now more commonly called an intellectual disability). Kirk laid the groundwork for passing laws, which required schools to provide help for children with learning disabilities. In public policy (1964), Kirk persuaded Washington to provide money in order to train teachers to help students with learning disabilities. Kirk's commitment to students with learning disabilities led to the first ever Institute for Research on Exceptional Children more than 50 years ago, which is still a popular foundation in the special education department.

He began his teaching career at the Oaks School in Chicago in 1929, where he worked specifically with boys who were delinquent and had mental disabilities. His interest in the field of special education continued as he worked closely with individuals with learning disabilities. Samuel Kirk “wrote so widely and so authoritatively on so many aspects of mental retardation and learning disorders and was responsible for so many innovations in diagnosis, training, and social policy”.

Samuel Alexander Kirk (1904–1996) was an American psychologist and educator, who is best known for coining the term learning disability.

Kirk was born in Rugby, North Dakota on 1 September 1904, to the farmers Richard and Nellie Kirk. He grew up on in a farm town and taught farmhands how to read at night. Kirk served in the military where he created a program for recruits who struggled with reading and writing.