Leiden University Student Repository

Mecredy, Laura (2013)

Opening Pandora's box. Francis Galton and the birth of eugenics

Master thesis | History (MA)

The English scientist Francis Galton (1822-1911)coined the term eugenics in 1883 and first spoke of the concept in 1865. In this thesis it is researched how Galton's ideas about eugenics were formed and how his British contemporaries responded to these ideas. The thesis question thus is:‘what formed Galton’s ideas about eugenics, and how did his contemporaries in British society respond to his ideas?’ Influences from Galton's personal life led to his interest in eugenics. At first Galton's contemporaries did not see Galton's concept of eugenics as a practical possibility, but later in his life he did find people who continued his mission. There was also a lot of criticism of his ideas. This criticism was mainly directed at the morality of eugenics and Galton's neglect of the influence of nurture on the improvement of the human race.

Eugenics

Francis Galton

British history

Science

Author

Mecredy, Laura

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Migration and Global Interdependence

Supervisors

Augusteijn, Joost

ECTS Credits

30

Language

en