1927: Ronald David Laing, the only son of David Park McNair Laing and Amelia Laing (maiden name of Kirkwood) is born at 21 Ardbeg Street, Govanhill, Glasgow at 5.15 p.m on Friday, 7th of October. Amelia took the name Ronald from Ronald Colman, the Hollywood movie star

1932: Attends the local state primary school, the Sir John Neilsen Cuthbertson's Public School, leaves on the 26th June 1936

1936: Wins scholarship to Hutchesons' Boys Grammar School

1944: Elected Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music

1945: Associate of the Royal College of Music

1945: Wins place at Glasgow University to study medicine

1950: Failing to pass the final medical exams on first attempt, takes six months' internship at the psychiatric unit of Stobhill Hospital before successfully taking resits in December

1951: Graduates as a medical doctor from Glasgow University, 14th February 1951

1951: From February to October works under the wing of Joe Schorstein one of the surgeons at the West of Scotland Neurosurgical Unit, Killearn

1951: Called up for non-combative national service to the Royal Army Medical Corps in October, initially attending the barracks in Aldershot, England followed by training at the Royal Medical College in Millbank, London

1951: Posted as Lieutenant Dr. Laing to the central British Army Psychiatry Unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley where insulin-coma treatment is routinely given to those diagnosed as schizophrenic. Meets future first wife, Sister Anne Hearne, a nurse at Netley 

1952: Transferred to Northen Command at Catterick Military Hosptial, promoted to Captain

1952: On the 11th of October marries Anne in Richmond Registry Office

1952: First child, Fiona born on the 9th of December, Newton Abbot, Devon.

1953: National service over, returns to complete psychiatric training at Gartnavel Hospital, the clinical base of the Glasgow Royal Mental Hospital; living in 104 Novar Drive in the West End of Glasgow

1953: Glasgow Gartnavel Royal Mental Hospital, NHS appointment in October under superintendent Dr. Angus MacNiven 

1954: Awarded Diploma in Psychological Medicine (D.P.M.), in December qualifying as a psychiatrist

1954: Second daughter, Susan born on the 18th of September, Nova Drive, Glasgow.

1955: Third daughter, Karen born on the 1st of November after family moved to 1 Ruskin Place, Hillhead, Glasgow with the financial assistance of Anne's parents

1955: Appointed Senior Registrar at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow (where the Department of Psychological Medicine of Glasgow University was situated), 19th February working with Professor T. Ferguson Rodger

1956: Moves to 335 The Hydes, Harlow New Town with wife Anne and three daughters Fiona, Susie and Karen

1956: Starts work at the Tavistock Clinic in Hampstead, London as a Senior Registrar commuting from Harlow by bus

1956: Commences training as a psychoanalyst and undergoes four years of psychoanalysis with Dr. Charles Rycroft as his analyst

1957: Fourth child, first son Paul born on the 18th January 

1958: Fifth child, second son Adrian born 1st April

1958: Meets Dr. David Cooper a South African psychiatrist working at the Belmont Hospital

1958: Completes first draft of 'The Divided Self' and circulates to colleagues

1958: Starts research funded by the Tavistock with Dr. Aaron Esterson into families and schizophrenia

1959: Best friend Douglas Hutchison falls to his death on mountaineering trip on Ben More the 3rd of January (writes in his diary: 'In Douglas's death I have lost my brother')

1960: Moves with family from Harlow to Priory Court, Mazinod Avenue, Kilburn

1960: After some internal debate and split opinions, enrolled as qualified psychoanalyst from the Institute of Psychoanalysis, London

1960: 'The Divided Self A Study of Sanity and Madness' published in hardback by Tavistock Publications, dedicated to his mother and father

1960: Opens private practice as psychoanalyst at 21 Wimpole Street in London

1961: 'The Self & Others Further studies in sanity and madness' published in hardback by Tavistock Publications, dedicated to his wife Anne

1961: Appointed senior researcher into schizophrenia at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations

1961: Moves with family from Kilburn to large flat in Church Row, Hampstead

1962: Appointed Director of The Langham Clinic, 37 Queen Anne Street which was run under the auspices of The Open Way Trust in turn run by Eric Graham Howe

1962: First visit to the U.S.A. funded by the Foundations' Fund for Research in Psychiatry

1963: Moves with first family from Hampstead to 23 Granville Road, Finchley

1963: By August the completed draft of the research into families concluded and delivered to the Tavistock under the title: 'Sanity, Madness and the Family'

1964: 'Sanity, Madness and the Family: Volume 1 - Families of Schizophrenics', co-authored with Aaron Esterson published in hardback by Tavistock Publications

1964: 'Reason and Violence - A Decade of Sartre's Philosophy' co-authored with David Cooper published in hardback by Tavistock Publications with a foreword by Jean-Paul Sartre

1964: Chairman of The Philadelphia Association (the 'PA') an incorporated charity

1965: Paperback edition of 'The Divided Self' published

1965: Parts company with The Langham Clinic (formerly The Open Way)

1965: Kingsley Hall in Powis Road, east London, opens under the auspices of the PA

1965: Separates from wife Anne and five children; moves out of Granville Road into Kingsley Hall 

1966: 'Interpersonal Perception  - A Theory and a Method of Research' co-authored with Herbert Philipson and Russel Lee published

1966: Moves out of Kinglsey Hall into 65a Belsize Park Gardens, London with Jutta Werner

1967: 'The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise' published in March

1967: 'The Dialectics of Liberation' conference held at The Roundhouse, Camden Town, London for two weeks in July

1967: Adam, sixth child, third son born to Jutta Werner on the 10th of September

1969: 'The Politics of the Family' (Massey Lectures of 1968) published in Canada

1970: Kingsley Hall closed its doors to the PA on the 31st of May

1970: Natascha, seventh child, fourth daughter, born to Jutta Werner 22nd April

1970: 'Knots' first published by Tavistock Publications

1971: 'The Politics of the Family and other essays', published in the UK by Tavistock Publications

1971: Leaves for Colombo, Ceylon with Jutta, Adam, Natascha and Brenda (the au pair) on 30th March

1972: Returns with second family from India on 20th April

1972: Lecture tour of the U.S.A. from 5th November to 8th December

1974: Marries Jutta on St. Valentine's day, 14th February

1974: Purchases 2 Eton Road, a run-down property in Chalk Farm restored as family home

1975: Becomes a grandfather to Karen's first child Mark on the 20th of April

1975: Max, eighth child, fourth son born to Jutta on the 24th of June

1976: Second daughter, Susie dies of leukaemia on the 4th March, aged 21 in Glasgow

1976: 'The Facts of Life' published in hardback by Allen Lane

1976: 'Do You Love Me' published by Random House

1978: Father, David dies aged 85, at 5.15 p.m. (the exact time of RD's birth) on Thursday the 21st April, in Ward 7 of the Psychogeriatic Unit of Leverndale Hospital, Glasgow

1978: 'Conversations with Children' published by Allen Lane

1978: LP - 'Life Before Death' released by Charisma

1979: 'Sonnets' published by Michael Joseph

1982: 'Voice of Experience' published by Random House

1982: Resignation from the PA recorded at the Annual General Meeting of the PA

1984: Moves out of Eton Road and separates from Jutta

1984: Benjamin, ninth child, fifth son born to therapist Sue Sunkel on the 15th of September

1985: Lives with his former secretary Marguerita Romayne-Kendon in Maida Vale, London

1985: The National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh unveil portrait of R.D. Laing by artist Victoria Crowe on the 25th of February

1985: 'Conversations with Children' (volume 2) published in France by Editions du Seuil

1985: 'Wisdom, Madness and Folly: The Making of a Psychiatrist' published by MacMillan

1986: Mother, Amelia dies on Monday the 10th of November

1987: Name removed from register of doctors, 20th May

1988: Tenth child, sixth son Charles born on 6th January to Marguerita Romayne-Kendon

1988: Rents flat in Going, Austria living with Marguerita and son Charles

1989: Dies in the south of France, St. Tropez on the 23rd of August of heart attack while playing tennis with Robert Firestone. Last words when asked if he wanted a doctor were: "Doctor what fucking doctor?"

Details sourced from Adrian Laing's biography: 'R.D. Laing: A Life' available in Amazon Kindle Store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/R-D-Laing-Life-Adrian-ebook/dp/B017WSZCL4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=14

Copyright: Adrian C Laing 2024