At the beginning of the last century a germ of modern
eugenics is visible in Malthus' famous essay on population, in which he
directed attention to the importance of the birth-rate for human
welfare, since this essay led Darwin and Wallace to enunciate the theory
of natural selection, and to point out clearly the effects of artificial
selection. It is really on Darwin's work that the modern science of
eugenics is based, and it owes its beginning to Darwin's cousin, Francis
Galton.
Galton was born in 1822, studied mathematics and medicine, traveled
widely, attained fame as an explorer in South Africa, and after
inheriting sufficient income to make him independent, settled down in
London and gave his time to pioneering experiments in many branches of
science. He contributed largely to founding the science of meteorology,
opened new paths in experimental psychology, introduced the system of
finger prints to anthropology, and took up the study of heredity,
publishing in 1865 a series of articles under the title of "Hereditary
Talent and Genius," which contained his first utterances on eugenics.
The present generation can hardly understand what a new field Galton
broke. Even Darwin had supposed that men do not differ very much in
intellectual endowment, and that their differences in achievement are
principally the result of differences in zeal and industry.
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