Kretschmer, Ernst

Kretschmer, Ernst

(born Oct. 8, 1888, Wüstenrot, Ger.—died Feb. 8, 1964, Tübingen, W.Ger.) German psychiatrist. In his best-known work, Physique and Character (1921), he attempted to correlate body build and physical constitution with character and mental illness, identifying three physical types—the pyknic (rotund), the athletic (muscular), and the asthenic (tall and thin)—and claiming that different psychiatric disorders were associated with each. His system was later adapted by the American psychologist William H. Sheldon (1899–1977), who renamed the types endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph and focused on their associated personality traits. Both theorists' work entered into popular culture and generated further research.