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Kinsey became a household name in the 1950s for his research on the sexual mods of American women and men.  Kinsey was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on 23 June, 1894. His father, Alfred, taught at the Stevens Institute of Technology, despite having only an eighth-grade education. Kinsey was a sickly child, plagued by rheumatic fever, rickets and typhoid. His parents were strict and deeply religious, rejecting many of life's aesthetic pleasures. After high school, Kinsey considered a career in the natural sciences, but his father wanted him to train as an engineer. He obligingly enrolled at the Stevens Institute and studied mechanical engineering for two years. In 1916, Kinsey received a scholarship from Harvard University and began his postgraduate work at the Bussey Institution. His two major texts, Sexual Behaviour in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behaviour in the Human Female (1953), broke new ground in the field of sex research and led to more open and honest investigations of sexual practices. Throughout his career, regardless of the subject, Kinsey remained inquisitive and scientifically high-minded. He passed away on 25 August, 1956.