Lloyd Newton Morrisett Jr was an American experimental psychologist with a career in education, communications, and philanthrop best rembered as one of the founders of Children's Television Workshop present day Sesame Workshop, the organization that created Sesame Street a program that revolutionalized children’s television. Morrisett was born Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and attended Oberlin College where he received his BA in philosophy in 1951. He initially wanted to be a chemist but a course he... moreLloyd Newton Morrisett Jr was an American experimental psychologist with a career in education, communications, and philanthrop best rembered as one of the founders of Children's Television Workshop present day Sesame Workshop, the organization that created Sesame Street a program that revolutionalized children’s television. Morrisett was born Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and attended Oberlin College where he received his BA in philosophy in 1951. He initially wanted to be a chemist but a course he took in psychology in his junior year changed his mind. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1951, Mr. Morrisett studied for two years at U.C.L.A, then earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Yale in 1956. The idea for Sesame Street came after noticing his daughter’s viewing habits which sparked an idea of creating a revolutionary children’s educational television program. He approached his friend Joan Ganz Cooney and together they sought funding to create Children's Television Workshop. On November 10, 1969, the show made its debut on public television introducing children to a fantasy world where they could learn numbers and letters. The show went on to become one of the largest children's programme winning 118 Emmy Awards more than any other television series. Morrisett was also vice president of the nonprofit Carnegie Corporation. He was a recipient of several awards during his lifetime including the Hall of Fame Award in 1988 for ACT Children's Television.
