Masters, William H(owell); and Johnson, Virginia E(shelman)

born Dec. 27, 1915, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

died Feb. 16, 2001, Tucson, Ariz.

born Feb. 11, 1925, Springfield, Missouri, U.S.

U.S. human-sexuality research team.

Together (as physician and psychologist, respectively), they founded and codirected the Masters & Johnson Institute in St. Louis. They observed couples having sex under laboratory conditions, using biochemical equipment to record sexual stimulations and reactions. Their book Human Sexual Response (1966) was considered the first comprehensive study of the physiology and anatomy of human sexual activity (see sexual response). They were married in 1971 and continued to collaborate after their divorce in 1993.

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