The Galton Laboratory of National Eugenics was a laboratory established for the research of

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

, later to the study of

biometry Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experime ...

and

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

, and eventually human

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

based at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. The laboratory was originally established in 1904 and existed in name until 2020.

History

The Eugenics Record Office

The Eugenics Record Office, a precursor to the Galton Laboratory, was established in 1904 by

Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911) was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics. Galton produced over 340 papers and b ...

. In 1906

Karl Pearson Karl Pearson (; born Carl Pearson; 27 March 1857 – 27 April 1936) was an English biostatistician and mathematician. He has been credited with establishing the discipline of mathematical statistics. He founded the world's first university ...

took directorship of The Eugenics Record Office, eventually dissolving it. During its operation, The Eugenics Record Office employed three staffers: Dr. Edgar Schuster (Galton Research Fellow, 1905–1906), David Heron (Galton Research Fellow, 1906), and Ethel Elderton (Research Assistant and Secretary, 1905–1907). In 1907 the Office was reconstituted as the Galton Eugenics Laboratory as part of UCL, still under the direction of Karl Pearson a professor of

Applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

The Department of Applied Statistics and Eugenics

The Galton Laboratory was financed by Francis Galton. On his death in 1911, Francis Galton left his estate to the University of London to fund a permanent Chair of Eugenics filled by Karl Pearson. Pearson created the Department of Applied Statistics which combined the Biometric Laboratory and the Francis Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics, in 1913 this department was renamed the Department of Applied Statistics and Eugenics. The department's increase in size prompted UCL to acquire or construct a new space. In 1912 Sir Herbert Bartlett offered space in the North-West front of UCL's Wilkins building. The outbreak of the First World War interrupted work and the new space was not used by the department until October 1919, with an official opening in June 1920. Pearson was succeeded as Galton Professor by

R. A. Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who ...

in 1934. When Fisher moved to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1944 the laboratory was incorporated in an enlarged Department of Eugenics, Biometry and Genetics headed by

J. B. S. Haldane John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (; 5 November 18921 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-born scientist who later moved to India and acquired Indian citizenship. He worked in the fields of physiology, genetics, evolutionary ...

, the Wheldon Professor of Biometry. This reversed a previous split in 1933 following Karl Pearson's retirement.

The Department of Human Genetics and Biometry

The Galton Laboratory underwent many changes during the post-war period. Most notably this period saw another renaming of the department following negative associations of eugenics after World War II. This renaming was by Harry Harris in 1966, where it then became the Department of Human Genetics and Biometry. The Department of Human Genetics and Biometry, including the Galton Laboratory, became part of the Department of Biology in UCL in 1996. MRC Human Biochemical Genetics Unit was established by Harris in 1962. He was Honorary Director until he went to Philadelphia in 1976, and the unit continued under the direction of David Hopkinson until its closure in October 2000. Sam Berry also held a Professorship in Genetics from 1972. In 1967 the laboratory moved into a dedicated new building Wolfson House along with a further two Medical Research Council units: the Human Biochemical Genetics Unit, headed by Harris, and the MRC Experimental Genetics Unit, headed by

Hans Grüneberg Hans Grüneberg (26 May 1907 – 23 October 1982), whose name was also written as Hans Grueneberg and Hans Gruneberg, was a British geneticist. Grüneberg was born in Wuppertal–Elberfeld in Germany. He obtained an MD from the University of Bo ...

. Subsequently, on Grüneberg's retirement, the space occupied by his unit was reallocated to the newly created MRC Mammalian Development Unit, led by

Anne McLaren Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, (26 April 1927 – 7 July 2007) was a British scientist who was a leading figure in developmental biology. She paved the way for women in science and her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation ...

, and the MRC Blood Group Unit, headed by Ruth Sanger, and subsequently Patricia Tippett. In 2013 the Galton Laboratory was incorporated into UCL's then new Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment.

The Galton Laboratory and its Legacy at UCL

In 2018, then President and Provost of UCL, Professor Michael Arthur established a formal inquiry into the history of eugenics at UCL. The Inquiry was chaired by Professor

Iyiola Solanke Iyiola Solanke is an Academic Fellow in the Inner Temple and Jacques Delors Professor of European Union Law at the University of Oxford, where she is a Fellow of Somerville College. Previously, she was the Chair in European Union law at the Unive ...

, of the University of Leeds and included sixteen members. The original inquiry set out six terms of reference. In June 2020, UCL issued a formal apology for its history and legacy of eugenics. This followed a report and comprehensive set of recommendations given to UCL in February 2020 from its official Inquiry into the History of Eugenics. Additionally, UCL announced that the institution would be denaming spaces and buildings named after Francis Galton and Karl Pearson. The spaces included the former Galton Lecture Theatre, the Pearson Lecture Theatre, and the Pearson Building. Nine of the inquiry's original sixteen members did not agree to sign this report. The MORE Group recommendations was an additional report compiled by nine of the inquiry's members who did not agree to sign off on the Feb 2020 report. Reasons cited by members of the MORE Group for their refusal to sign the Feb 2020 report included a need for more time to develop the narrative of the report, a deeper understanding of UCL's eugenics history and a broader set of terms that gave equal weight and understanding to all targets of eugenics. The inquiry group published one additional group report in April 2021 co-chaired by Professor Hazel Genn and Dr. Kamna Patel. This report synthesised the original February 2020 report with the further recommendations of the MORE Group. The most recent report was released in November 2021 focused on further research undertaken by the inquiry.

Publications

The Galton Laboratory published many pieces including memoir series, lectures series, addresses, biometric series, and technical series. * '' Eugenics Laboratory Lecture Series'

a series of lectures meant for general audiences to further engage understandings of eugenics outside of academic spaces. * '' Eugenics Laboratory Memoirs'

a series of memoirs from authors including Ethel Elderton,

, David Heron,

Amy Barrington Amy Barrington (died 6 January 1942) was an Irish teacher and scientist who was closely associated with the practices and beliefs of eugenics. She published several papers on that subject as well as indexing a work on history. She also wrote an a ...

. * '' Questions of the Day and of the Fray'

a eugenics memoir series written from 1910 to 1923. * ''Annals of Eugenics'', created by Karl Pearson in 1925, which continues as the ''

Annals of Human Genetics The ''Annals of Human Genetics'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering human genetics. It was established in 1925 by Karl Pearson as the ''Annals of Eugenics'', with as subtitle, Darwin's epigram "I have no Faith in anything shor ...

''.
Studies in National Deterioration
a series of studies published between 1906 and 1924.

Galton Professors of Eugenics/Genetics

Originally established as the Galton Chair in National Eugenics, the post was renamed under Penrose to be the Galton Professor of Human Genetics. *

1911–1933 *

Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who a ...

1933–1943 *

Lionel Penrose Lionel Sharples Penrose, FRS (11 June 1898 – 12 May 1972) was an English psychiatrist, medical geneticist, paediatrician, mathematician and chess theorist, who carried out pioneering work on the genetics Genetics is the study of ...

1945–1965 * Harry Harris 1965–1976 * Bette Robson 1976–1994 *

Nicholas Wood Nicholas Wood (24 April 1795 – 19 December 1865) was an English colliery and steam locomotive engineer. He helped engineer and design many steps forward in both engineering and mining safety, and helped bring about the North of England Inst ...

2009–2020

Workers

* Ethel Elderton: research assistant, secretary, and eventual Galton Research Scholar. *

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

of the Galton Laboratory. * David Heron: Galton Research Fellow. *

Julia Bell Julia Bell MA Dubl (1901) MRCS LRCP (1920) MRCP (1926) FRCP (1938) (28 January 1879 – 26 April 1979) was one of the pioneers of eugenics and human genetics.Greta Jones, 'Bell, Julia (1879–1979)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' ...

: assistant, researcher. * Alice Lee: assistant, researcher * Adelaide Gladys Davin * Mary Noel Karn * Mary Hamilton Williams * Dr. Eleanor Pairman

Notes

Possibly succeeding Grüneberg.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20040509104147/http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/
Archives of the Galton Laboratory, UCL Library Special Collections
* https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2014/jul/galton-archive-now-online * https://archive.org/details/uclmoderngeneticscollections * * * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/provost/inquiry-history-eugenics-ucl/about-inquiry * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/feb/ucl-announces-action-acknowledge-and-address-historical-links-eugenics * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/podcasts/living-eugenics * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/provost/sites/provost/files/ucl_history_of_eugenics_inquiry_report.pdf * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/provost/sites/provost/files/recommendations-ucl-eugenics-inquiry-more-group-university-college-london-february-2020.pdf * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/provost/sites/provost/files/eugenics-response-group-final-report-april-2021.pdf * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/teaching-learning/professional-development/eugenics-legacy-education-project-elep-0 * https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2014/jul/galton-archive-now-online {{coord, 51.523, -0.133, display=title Eugenics in the United Kingdom Genetics in the United Kingdom Genetics or genomics research institutions History of genetics Laboratories in the United Kingdom Research institutes established in 1904 Research institutes in London 1904 establishments in England University College London University of London Eugenics organizations Statistical organizations Biometrics Publications associated with the University of Oxford