Based on quantitative studies of prominent individuals and their family trees, he concluded that intellectual ability is inherited in much the same way as physical traits, and he later published his findings in Hereditary Genius (1869). Theorizing that the operating principles of Darwin's theory of evolution provided the potential for the positive biological transformation of humankind, Galton began to study the inheritance of intellectual characteristics among human beings. The 1859 publication of On the Origin of Species by Galton's cousin, Charles Darwin, turned Galton's attention to the subject of heredity. Among his other achievements, Galton created the world's first weather maps. During the next ten years, Galton was preoccupied with geographical and meteorological studies. He also became a fellow of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society. Entering Cambridge University two years later, Galton failed to attain the high academic ranking he sought, and this precipitated a mental breakdown, although he did eventually earn his degree.Īfter several years of living on an inheritance from his father who died in 1845, Galton led a two-year expedition to the interior of southwest Africa, winning a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society for a highly detailed map he produced from data obtained on this A rebellious student, he left school at the age of 16 to receive medical training at hospitals in Birmingham and London. Nevertheless, Galton's formal education was unsuccessful. He learned to read before the age of three and became competent in Latin and mathematics by age five. English scientist, explorer, and principal figure in the early history of eugenics.īorn in Birmingham, England, Francis Galton was descended from founders of the Quaker religion.
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