Sept. 23, 1939

The death of Sigmund Freud occurred on September 23, 1939, in London. Decades earlier Freud had devised a particular technique to push his patients towards insight. This consisted of, with those analysands he felt were capable of focusing on their own health, setting a termination date for the therapy sessions. This date, once set, could not be adjusted, since flexibility about the date would threaten the therapist's credibility. In Freud's words: "The lion springs only once."