R. D. Laing

Daniel Burston (Duquesne University); Gavin Miller (University of Glasgow)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

Born 7 Oct 1927
Died 23 Aug 1989
Activity 1955-1989

Places

Born in Scotland
Active in England; Scotland; Austria

Activities

Primary

Psychoanalyst

Other

Autobiographer
Playwright / Dramatist
Poet

Resources

Laing's Works

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Ronald David Laing was born on the 7th October 1927 on 26 Ardbeg Street in the Govanhill district of Glasgow, the only child of David and Amelia Laing. David Laing started his career as an engineer and ordnance man in the Royal Tank Corps and Royal Air Corps, and became a civil engineer for the Corporation of Glasgow. He was principal baritone for the Glasgow University Chapel choir, and enjoyed musical past-times exceedingly. Amelia, his wife, had a reputation as a secretive, suspicious and eccentric person, who – as her son later recalled – drove her husband's musical friends and collaborators away from their apartment through her hostile and duplicitous behavior. But David had his own peculiarities. His family background was troubled, and he deeply resented his own father (Laing's…

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2189 words

Citation: Burston, Daniel, Gavin Miller. "R. D. Laing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5951, accessed 22 November 2024.]