Final answer:
Stanley Milgram's study on obedience was prompted by the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1961, which raised questions about the role of obedience in the Holocaust. Milgram's findings indicated that many people would obey authority figures, even to the point of harming others, which has had significant implications for social psychology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The historical event that encouraged Stanley Milgram to conduct his famous study on obedience was the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal, in 1961. The trial sparked a widespread debate about how German soldiers could have participated in the Holocaust, often claiming they were merely following orders. This led Milgram to investigate if ordinary people could be compelled to inflict pain on another person just because an authority figure ordered them to do so. His findings revealed a shocking propensity for individuals to obey, with nearly two-thirds demonstrating a willingness to administer what they believed were lethal electric shocks.
Milgram's experiment underscored a chilling aspect of human behavior that has since informed our understanding of social psychology and authority. In light of historical atrocities such as the Holocaust, obedience to authority has been a critical area of study in understanding the potential for widespread human rights violations.