Close
For a detailed list of UCL's collections that relate to eugenics and its history.
The list was put together by Prejudice in Power Fellow, Ishita Marwah as part of the Prejudice in Power Fellowship project.
Special Collections
UCL Special Collections hold several collections which relate to the history of eugenics at the university, covering the period of the late-nineteenth to late twentieth century. These include collections of the Galton Laboratory and individuals such as Francis Galton, Karl Pearson, Lionel Penrose and J B S Haldane.
Everyone can access these collections free of charge by registering as a reader and booking an appointment to view the material in one of our three reading rooms. Find out more about how to book a visit.
- Galton Laboratory Book Collection
The core of this collection is Francis Galton’s personal library and later grew as the working library of the Galton Laboratory. Ranging from the early eighteenth to mid twentieth century, this collection comprises of c.5,000 books, periodicals and pamphlets which focus on eugenics, statistics and genetics.
- Galton Laboratory Records Collection
This collection consists of administrative, business and research records of the Galton Laboratory, covering the period 1825-1998. Included are items recording the establishment of the laboratory, research working papers on subjects including albinism and dwarfism, papers relating to publications such as The Annals of Eugenics and The Treasury of Human Inheritance, papers accumulated by the laboratory and series’ of photographs, artwork, AV material and some objects.
- Galton Papers
A collection of Francis Galton’s papers, covering the period 1612-1926. Includes material relating to the personal history of Galton and his family, papers relating to his work and a series of his correspondence.
- Karl Pearson Papers
A collection of Karl Pearson’s papers, covering the period 1840-1972. Consisting of personal and family papers, lectures and lecture notes, papers relating to his literary and scientific work, the Department of Applied Statistics, the journal Biometrika, his work on ‘The Life, letters and labours of Francis Galton’, his wartime research. Also included are papers he acquired and general correspondence.
- L S Penrose Papers
A collection of Lionel Penrose’s papers, covering the period 1806-1974. Includes personal and family papers, papers relating to his professional training, medical, scientific and voluntary work, and a series of incoming correspondence.
- Haldane Papers
A collection of the John Burdon Sanderson Haldane’s papers, covering the period 1933-1964. Comprising personal papers, scientific research papers, copies of his publications and drafts, correspondence, papers relating to UCL, and papers of various committees and societies.
Digital Collections
Several collections have also been digitised and can be accessed via our Digital Collections.
- Genetics Collection
This includes several archives which were digitised as part of a project funded of the Wellcome Trust. These include the Galton Papers, Penrose Papers and Haldane Papers.
- Legacies of Eugenics collection
This collection consists of digitised copies of some of the publications of the Galton Laboratory, as well as related material from the Biometric Laboratory. Titles include the Eugenics Laboratory Lecture Series, Eugenics Laboratory Memoirs, Drapers’ Company Research Memoirs, Questions of the Day and of the Fray, and others.
- Council Minutes
This collection consists of digitised copies of UCL’s Council Minutes, covering the period 1825-1920. As UCL’s governing body, minutes of Council meetings provide details of the decision making and management of the Galton Laboratory, during its establishment and early years.
Museum Collections
As part of UCL’s Science Collections, the Eugenics and biometrics collection consists of nearly 500 objects from Francis Galton’s bequest to the university, and from the Department of Applied Statistics and Eugenics run by Galton’s successor Karl Pearson. Search UCL Collections Online by the search terms ‘eugenics’ or ‘Galton’ to explore the objects.
For further information please contact museums@ucl.ac.uk.