Swiss psychiatrist, born November 8, 1884, Zurich; died April 2, 1922, Herisau.
Biography of Hermann Rorschach
Hermann Rorschach was born in Zurich to an ancient Swiss family from the Canton Thurgau. He went to school in the small town of Schaffhausen, in an atmosphere of intellectual and cultural affluence. His father, who died in 1903, was a failed artist who provided a living for his family by working as a drawing teacher in a boys' preparatory school.

Hermann's nickname as a secondary school student was Klex, meaning 'inkblot'. There has been much speculation as to the extraordinary coincidence of his nickname and the test for which he is now famous. Klecksography was a game which was commonly played by Swiss children and consisted of spotting an ink blot on paper and folding it so that the forms of a butterfly or a bird would be obtained.

Hermann Rorschach has been described as a studious and orderly pupil who completed his basic studies with top marks in all disciplines. He took a great interest in drawing, being an artist of some merit. Towards the end of his schooling in Schaffhausen he wrote to Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) - the famous advocate of Darwin's evolutionary theory - asking him whether he should go into further studies of art or natural sciences. Haeckel advised the second, so in 1904 he entered medical school in Zurich, spending some time at Neuchâtel (German: Neuenburg), Berlin and Berne, .