Dr. M. Royden C. Astley, who had been President of the American Psychoanalytic Association in 1969-1970, died on July 7th, 1972, in the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He was 61 years of age.
A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Astley was trained at the University of Pennsylvania, where he did both his undergraduate and medical studies. After completing an internship at the Philadelphia General Hospital, he practiced general medicine for seven years. Subsequently, he enrolled at the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute and was graduated from that Institute in 1950. During this period he was actively involved in teaching psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and later became a member of the faculty of the Philadelphia Institute.
In 1956, Dr. Astley accepted appointments at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh and at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine. At the time of his death, he held the positions of Professor of Psychiatry in that medical school, and Director of the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Institute, which is located in the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.
He was long active in the American Psychoanalytic Association, serving on many committees and participating in scientific panels. From 1961–1964 he was Secretary of the Board on Professional Standards. He was elected President-Eleet of the Association in December 1967, assumed that office in May 1968, and became President in the spring of 1969.
The breadth of Dr. Astley's interests was reflected by the broad range of his teaching and community activities in Pittsburgh, in Philadelphia, and nationally. His interests were also reflected by his publications. His last paper, “Psychoanalysis: The Future,” had been accepted for publication in the Journal of the APsaA shortly before his death.
He is survived by his wife, the former Edna Lockhart, and by his two sons, M. Royden, Jr. and Malcolm L. A brother and a sister also survive.