Hervey Cleckley

Hervey Milton Cleckley (1903-1984) was an American psychiatrist who earned his medical degree from the University of Georgia in 1929 and went on to hold positions including professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia and chief of psychiatry at University Hospital in Augusta, combining academic work with private practice throughout his career. His 1941 book The Mask of Sanity provided the first detailed clinical description of psychopathy, arguing that psychopathic individuals can appear outwardly normal and even socially engaging, a convincing facade that conceals an underlying disorder rather than any visible sign of psychosis or neurosis. The book's framework directly influenced later diagnostic concepts including antisocial personality disorder and Robert Hare's Psychopathy Checklist. Cleckley also co-authored a well known case study of multiple personality disorder, published as The Three Faces of Eve in 1956 and adapted into a 1957 film.