Our History

The Institute’s namesake, Arnold Gesell, PhD, MD, began his groundbreaking work in the early 20th century. He developed a set of norms illustrating sequential and predictable patterns of growth and development, used as the basis of the Gesell Developmental Observation.

Dr. Gesell was the first director of the Yale University Clinic now known as the
Yale Child Study Center, as well as the nation’s first school psychologist. He was also a founding member of the National Association for Nursing and Education, now known as the
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Following Dr. Gesell’s retirement from Yale in 1950, associates Dr. Louise Bates Ames and Dr. Frances Ilg opened the Gesell Institute in New Haven, Connecticut, to continue his life’s work. Since that time, the Institute has offered a variety of medical and educational programs and services to promote the healthy development of children and adults worldwide.

Today, the work of the Institute is focused on educating and supporting teachers and parents in order to ensure the future success of all children, in the United States and abroad.

Updated July 31, 2012