Person Galton; Sir; Francis (1822 - 1911); statistician, human geneticist and eugenicist Galton Francis Sir statistician, human geneticist and eugenicist 1822 - 1911 British Male Birmingham, Warwickshire, England 16 February 1822 Grayshott House, Haslemere, Surrey 17/01/1911 19110117 Burial: The family vault at Claverdon, near Warwick, Warwickshire

55 Victoria Street, Westminster (ca 1860)

Statistics Meteorology Eugenics Anthropometry Experimental psychology Heredity Education: Attended school in Boulogne, c.1830-1832; Attwood's private school at Kenilworth 1832; King Edward's School, Birmingham; pupil at Birmingham General Hospital, 1838; Medical School of King's College, London, rooming with Richard Partridge FRS, 1839; Trinity College, Cambridge, 1840-1843. Career: Toured to Vienna, Constantinople and Smyrna (1840); ill-health led to Galton failing to take his final examinations at Cambridge, awarded a pass, or poll degree (1843); inherited the estate of his father, becoming independently wealthy (1844); toured Egypt and Syria (1845); commenced an expedition to south-western Africa (1850-1852); elected to the Athenaeum Club (1856); Secretary of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1863-1867); served on Committee and Council of the Meteorological Office (1868-1900); initiated an anthropometric laboratory at the International Health Exhibition (1884); Chairman of Kew Observatory (1889-1901); founded a Eugenics Office (1905); Eugenics Laboratory (1906); Honorary President of the Eugenics Education Society; left a bequest of £45,000 to found a Chair of Eugenics at University College, London (1911). Honours: Kt 1909 Memberships: RGS (Honorary Secretary) Son of Samuel Tertius Galton and his wife Frances Anne Violetta Darwin; grandson of Samuel Galton (FRS 1785) and of Erasmus Darwin (FRS 1761); cousin of Charles Robert Darwin (FRS 1839). Married in 1853, to Louisa Jane Butler, daughter of George Butler, Dean of Peterborough and Master of Harrow School. Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices that aim to 'improve' the physiological qualities of a human population, usually along lines of physical and mental ability. These practices have been characterised as sometimes embracing 'positive' measures, such as encouraging individuals deemed particularly fit to reproduce; and/or 'negative' measures, such as marriage prohibitions and voluntary or forced sterilization of people deemed unfit. The history of eugenics (a term coined by Francis Galton) began in the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. It was generally linked to negative views of race and class. A popular eugenics movement emerged in the United Kingdom, tied in with the thinking of physiological anthropologists, interpretations of Darwinism and natural selection, and the rise of statistical modelling and quantitative analysis in science. Royal Society roles: VP 1870-1872, 1876-1877, 1883-1884 Medals and prizes: Royal Medal 1886; Darwin Medal 1902; Copley Medal 1910 Fellow 07/06/1860 On Galton's election certificate, Richard Partridge has signed twice, under both General and Personal Knowledge; Charles Darwin has signed twice under Personal Knowledge, once using 'Charles', once with 'C' Sources: Bulloch's Roll; ODNB; DSB Obituaries: Proc Roy Soc Series B 1911-1912 vol 84 pp x-xvii signed by G. H. D. References: F. Galton, 'Memories of my life', (London, 1908) K. Pearson, 'The life, letters and labours of Francis Galton' (London, 1914-1930) John Postgate, 'Eugenics Revisited', review of Milo Keynes, ed, Sir Francis Galton, FRS - The Legacy of his Ideas in NR v.48 (1994) pp.143-146 David C. Watt, 'Lionel Penrose, FRS (1898-1972) and Eugenics: Part One' in NR v.52 (1998) pp.137-151 David C. Watt, 'Lionel Penrose, FRS (1898-1972) and Eugenics. Part Two' in NR v.52 (1998) pp.339-350 Roy S. Porter, 'Medical futures' (The Wilkins Lecture 2000) in NR v.55 (2001) pp.325-329 A. W. F. Edwards, 'From African exploration to the birth of eugenics. A life of Sir Francis Galton: from African exploration to the birth of eugenics, by N W Gillham' in NR v.56 (2002) pp.399-400 R. A. Crowther, 'Viruses and the development of quantitative biological electron microscopy' in NR v.58 (2004) pp.65-81 International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 16 Feb 1822 - 17 Jan 1911 NA7708 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 04/06/2025 RS_NET\VidaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/88011598 ced90dbe-f255-40c2-8c81-d94c38309777