Abstract
Knowing how a major development began and unfolded creates the possibility of understanding it in depth. The fact that Carl Rogers was an American and that he grew up, lived and worked in particular historical times has great bearing on the nature and impact of his contribution. Already an adolescent when the USA entered the First World War, Rogers’ tertiary education and first professional steps occurred in the 1920s. He then worked full time as a practitioner psychologist through the Great Depression and 1930s, and launched into his academic career and groundbreaking contribution during the Second World War. His innovative trajectory continued to the end of his life in February 1987.