Arthur Lester Benton

Arthur Lester Benton (1909 to 2006) was an American neuropsychologist who spent most of his career at the University of Iowa, where he became Emeritus Professor of Neurology and Psychology. He earned his bachelor and master degrees at Oberlin College and his doctorate at Columbia University in 1935, then trained as a psychologist at the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic of New York Hospital. After serving as a Navy medical department officer from 1941 to 1945, he taught at the University of Louisville and in 1948 moved to Iowa as director of graduate training in clinical psychology. He later held a joint post in psychology and neurology, and the Benton Laboratory of Neuropsychology was dedicated there when he retired in 1978. He supervised 46 doctoral dissertations and 24 master theses and created several neuropsychological testing instruments, including the Benton Visual Retention Test.