Bryng Bryngelson Biographical Notes
Bryng Bryngelson was born April 22, 1892, in Otisco, Minnesota and died in October 8, 1979 in Johnson County, Kansas. A short obituary from Minneapolis Newspaper
Bryngelson, who retired in 1960, founded the Speech Clinic (now the Speech and Hearing Clinic) at the university in 1927 and served as its first director.
As a pioneer in the field of communications disorders, he also founded the Minnesota Speech and Hearing Association and the aphasia clinic at the Fort Snelling Veterans Administration Hospital.
He was born in Waseca and joined the Minnesota faculty in 1927. He earned his doctorate in speech pathology at the University of Iowa in 1931.
Survivors include his wife, Arminda, of Johnson, Kan; a son, William, of St. Joseph, Mo.; a sister, Hazel Shoemaker, Minneapolis; a brother, Ivan, of Billings, Mont.; and three grandchildren.
Class of 1922: Reuben Arthur Bryngelson (M-1920-21) b. Waseca, Minn. April 22, 1892, BA Carleton '16, U. S. Army Infantry 88 Div., 1917-18; Carleton College (instructor public speaking) 1919-20; University of Iowa (instructor & G.S.) 1921, Box 259 University of IA, Iowa City, IA. (Yale Divinity School General Catalogue, Yale Centennial Division, 1822-1922, MN Historical Society Library, p. 544)
A research note about his name-- Bryng Bryngelson was the seventh of 11 children of two Swedish immigrants who settled in MN. His father, the Rev. August, was a larger than life, itinerant preacher of the Swedish Covenant church who traveled the Northwest region of upper MN and WI. Bryng was christened Arthur Reuben Bryngelson. Variously he was called Reuben or R. A. until he changed his name to Bryng in 1921 at the request of his father who upon visiting his homeland in 1920 and learning that Bryng had been a name in every generation of his family, asked this son to become Bryng. It was a very close family of mostly boys.
Bryngelson received the Carleton Alumni award, written up as follows in the Carleton Alumni Magazine:
Dr. Bryngelson was born in Otisco, Minnesota, and received a B. A. degree from Carleton in 1916. Following service in World War I, he returned to his alma mater as instructor of speech in 1919-20. After work at Yale and the State University of Iowa, he was named professor of speech and psychology at Hanover College in 1924. He returned to the Iowa school and received an M. S. in 1926. After a year at the University of Wisconsin, he settled at the University of Minnesota, where he founded and directed the University's Speech Clinic in 1927. In 1931 he received the Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the State University of Iowa.
At Minnesota he established the speech clinic in the Department of Pediatrics, and became clinical professor of pediatrics. In 1945 he founded the Aphasia Clinic at the V. A. Hospital. In 1960 Dr. Bryngelson was named professor emeritus, speech and clinical professor of pediatrics at the University. He has been visiting professor at Northwestern, the universities of Florida, Buffalo, Syracuse, Hawaii and Colorado.
Dr. Bryngelson, whose 1960 retirement was short-lived, is author or co-author of Know Yourself, Speech in the Classroom, Getting Next to Yourself, and Clinical Group Therapy for Problem People, and over 100 articles. He is also past president of the American Speech and Hearing Association. He holds, among others, membership in Sigma Xi, the American Medical Writers Association, American Men of Science, and Leaders in American Education.
Professor Bryngelson is widely known as one of the world's pioneers in the field of speech pathology. He has also done considerable research on the subjects of stuttering and left-handedness--its genetics and relationship to communications disorders. While contemplating full retirement, he is presently at work on still another book.
Bernice White, Ed., editor, Who's Who in Minnesota - 1958 (Seattle, WA: Hugh L. White, 1958). included the following biographical information:
BRYNGELSON, BRYNG
Speech Pathologist
b Otisco Minn Apr 22 1892; s of August and Ida (Nelson); m Arminda Mowre of Mpls Sept 13 1922; ch, William Mowre; m Virginia Caldwell 1948; 3 grandch; educ, pub schs Minn & Wis, Carleton Coll BA 1916, State U of Ia MA 1926, PhD 1931, pg wk U of Wis & Yale U; hs prin Belfield ND 1916-17, Fosston Minn 1917-18; instr Carleton Coll Northfield Minn 1918-19; prof Hanover Coll Hanover Ind 1922-24; instr State U of Ia Ia City 1924-26; F U of Wis Madison 1926-27; prof & dir Speech Clinic U of M Mpls 1927-51; prof of speech & dir speech path U of M 1951---; consultant VA Aphasia Clinic 1946---; mem NW Ped Soc, Psi Chi, Amer Speech & Hearing Assn; p pres & treas ibid; mem Minn Soc of Speech Clinicians, Sigma Xi, Bd of Edits Midw Speech Publ, Speech Assn of Amer, Amer Med Writers Assn; p mem AAAS, Amer Psych Assn, Amer Genetic Assn; visiting prof U of Colo summers 1938-42m NW Univ summer 1946; exch prof U of Fla 1950; serv Inf Hdqrs Co WW 1; auth bks & over 100 articles on speech; hobbies, travel, sports, summer lake life; Indep; home, 4932 S Oliver Ave; ofc U of M, Mpls.
Bryngelson was a pioneer in the profession of speech pathology. "His contributions were many and varied, with stuttering and people remaining is first love. From ASHA's earliest days, Bryngelson was an involved and contributing member. He earned his B.A. degree at Carleton College in 1916. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees were conferred by the University of Iowa in 1926 and 1931 respectively. His Ph.D. was in clinical psychology and speech pathology. From ASHA's earliest days, Bryngelson was an involved and contributing member. He was a fellow and served as treasurer from 1933-1942 and president during the years of 1943 and 1944. He became a life member in 1960 and in 1963 received ASHA's highest award, the Honors of the Association. The major part of Bryngelson's professional career was spent at the University of Minnesota. He joined the faculty in 1927 and in that same year founded the speech clinic. He also established the aphasia clinic at the V.A. Hospital in Minneapolis and in addition, founded the Minnesota Speech And Hearing Association. In 1960, he retired as professor emeritus of speech and clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, the University established the Bryng Bryngelson Communication Disorders Research Fund. . . . Though retired, Bryngelson continued his professional activities, publishing a number of articles as well as authoring several books. Bryng's presence at conventions and professional gatherings will long be remembered. His impact on students, colleagues, and the entire profession was a very real one and will continue for years to come." (written by Sam Haroldson for ASHA, February 1980, volume 22, number 2, p. 107)
While at the University of Minnesota, in addition to developing a speech clinic there, pursuing a life-long interest in stuttering, and publishing an articulation test (the Bryngelson-Glaspey) that I used in my own training program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (JAK), Bryngelson is remembered for his research on left-handedness. "After 30 years of research with left-handedness, Dr. Bryng Bryngelson of the University of Minnesota estimated 35 percent of all children would develop into left-handers if no one pressured them to use their right hands." from Welcome to my Lefty page
Dave Williams, writes in Wendell Johnson and Charles Van Riper: A Remembrance of Them and Their Era, "In August 1929 he went to see Bryng Bryngelson at the University of Minnesota. Bryngelson was developing a speech clinic there, and was especially interested in stuttering. He put Van Riper through a battery of tests and concluded that a change of handedness was called for. He also told Van Riper about the stuttering program at Iowa under Travis, and recommended that he go there for therapy -- Bryngelson himself was going to Iowa the following year to work on his Ph. D. in speech pathology."
One of Bryngelson's important contributions to the field of stuttering therapy was his concept of "voluntary stuttering." Both Van Riper and Wendell Johnson were influenced by the work of Bryngelson at Iowa in the early 1930's. (Bloodstein, Handbook on Stuttering).
Van Riper recalls some of his therapy sessions with Bryngelson (The Treatment of Stuttering, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1973, p. 365).
- "The author of this text, formerly a very severe stutterer, was fortunate enough to have some good advice from Bryng Bryngelson shortly after he had acquired excellent fluency by modifying his own stuttering behaviors. Bryngelson suggested that, for a period of six weeks, the author, in a new life situation, pose as being a severe stutterer during the hours from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M., and then thereafter until he went to bed try to speak as well as he could. Reluctantly we acceded to this Cinderella therapy and followed the program quite thoroughly. It was very hard to do pseudo-stuttering so many hours a day when we knew we could speak fluently and we welcomed the clock striking six. Nevertheless, the program resolved our identity conflicts and no relapse occurred. In passing, we may say that we have never been able to get one of our own stutterers to carry out such a project."
Another story I've read, but cannot find the reference was about how Bryngelson and Van Riper would go to a tobacco shop together and Bryngelson would demonstrate severe voluntary stuttering while buying Dill's tobacco.
At Iowa Bryngelson's Ph.D. thesis was supervised by Wendell Johnson.
Bryngelson, Bryng. A Phono-Photographic Analysis of the Vocal Disturbances in Stuttering. 1931. Thesis from University of Iowa
