History of the Galton Collection
History: Sir Francis Galton | His life | Galton at UCL
History: Sir Francis Galton
In a sense, Sir Francis Galton was a traditional Victorian gentlemen scientist who dabbled in a whole range of fields; yet Galton made an extraordinary impact on almost every area to which he turned his attention. Modern understandings in statistics, genetics, heredity and criminology were shaped by Galton's work.
In his earlier years, prompted by expeditions to Africa and the Near East, Galton focussed on meteorology, travel, geography, and communications. He discovered the anti-cyclone, developed modern weather maps, was awarded a gold medal by the Royal Geographical Society, and wrote several books about his travelling experiences.
Laterally, and in part prompted by the work of his cousin, Charles Darwin, Galton turned his attention to the study of heredity and identity. His research in these fields, which ultimately led to his coining the term "eugenics", also prompted his numerous discoveries and advances in the areas of statistics, photography, fingerprinting, and anthropometrics.
His life
Galton was born to wealthy parents in Birmingham in 1822. The youngest of 9 children, his father was a banker and his mother the daughter of the esteemed doctor Erasmus Darwin - the latter also the grandfather of Charles Darwin.
After starting a medical degree at King's College, London, Galton transferred to Cambridge to read Mathematics. His father's death in 1844 left Galton a wealthy young man, and, during the next six years, he embarked on a series of expeditions abroad, interspersing these adventures with life in England as a wealthy country gentleman.
From 1850, Galton regained his sense of direction, and he worked industriously at his various scientific pursuits throughout the second half of the century and beyond. In 1853 he married Louisa Butler - they had no children. Galton, who was knighted in 1909, died in 1911.
To find out more about Galton's life and works, visit www.galton.org
Galton at UCL
- 1904, Galton wrote to the principal of UCL, to register his support for "the study of ... National Eugenics". The University provided rooms at 50 Gower Street, which were designated The Eugenics Records Office.
- 1907, The Eugenics Records office was converted into The Eugenics Laboratory , with Karl Pearson as director and David Heron, a mathematician, as the Francis Galton Fellow.
- 1911, Galton's will left £45,000 to UCL for the Chair of Eugenics. The will specifically stated that Karl Pearson was to be the first holder of the post. Pearson was the first of many distinguished Galton Professors, including RA Fisher, Lionel Penrose, Harry Harris & Bette Robson.
- 1963, The Francis Galton Laboratory of National Eugenics became the The Galton Laboratory of the Department of Human Genetics & Biometry. The Galton Lab became part of the Department of Biology in 1996.
Fittingly, The Galton Collection is now housed back in the Galton Laboratory in Wolfson House.
The Galton Archive of papers and manuscripts are held in UCL Library's Special Collections.
