Mary Ainsworth was born. A hugely influential developmental psychologist, Ainsworth is best known for her career-long research partnership with John Bowlby and her pioneering work on child developmental psychopathology. Among her many professional honors, Ainsworth received the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1989 and the American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology in 1998, the official citation for which read:

'Mary Ainsworth stands out as one of the major figures of the twentieth century in the study of the relations between young children and their care-givers. Her work on the nature and development of human security, her exquisite naturalistic observations of attachment—care-giving interactions, her conceptual analyses of attachment, exploration and self-reliance, and her contributions to methodology of infant assessment are cornerstones of modern attachment theory and research. The patterns of attachment that she identified have proven robust in research across diverse cultures and across the human lifespan. Her contributions to developmental psychology, developmental psychopathology, and ultimately to clinical psychology, as well as her teaching, colleagueship, and grace, are the secure base from which future generations of students can explore.'