Born on July 18, 1921, Aaron Temkin Beck was raised in Providence, Rhode Island. His mother, Elizabeth Temkin, married his father, Harry Beck, in 1909. The youngest of five children, Aaron Beck notes that his mother was quite depressed prior to his birth due to the loss of two of her children. Beck was born two years after his only sister died of influenza. In Aaron T. Beck, it is noted that he believed himself to be a replacement child for his sister. Beck says he takes joy in the idea that, even at a young age, he was able to cure his mother’s depression.
The Beck Institute. “The Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research” Dr. Aaron T. Beck’s Biography. Jan. 1999. 5 Feb. 2008. <http://www.beckinstitute.org/>.
