Francis Galton biography

Synopsis

Early Life

A relative of famed naturalist Charles Darwin, Francis Galton spent much of his life dedicated to research and critical inquiries into several different subject areas, from exploration to eugenics to weather to fingerprints. He was born on February 16, 1822, and grew up in a wealthy family near Birmingham, England. At an early age, he began to show great intellectual promise.

At first, Galton planned to become a doctor. He studied medicine at Birmingham's General Hospital and at King's College in London in the late 1830s. But he abandoned this idea and went on to study mathematics at Cambridge University. After his father's death in 1844, Galton received a substantial inheritance. This inheritance enabled him to pursue whatever topic piqued his curiosity. And he soon decided that it was time to explore more distant shores.

Exploration and Accomplishments

In the mid-1840s, Galton made his first trip to the Middle East and Africa. He went to Egypt and traveled down the Nile River to the Sudan, among other destinations in the area. His travels inspired him to undertake an exploration of southern Africa. In 1850, Galton joined the Royal Geographical Society and soon set off on his journey, with the society's approval. He initially planned to travel from an area known as Damaraland to Lake Ngami, but he ended up traveling through a Southwestern section called Ovamboland.

Galton's maps and observations and descriptions of the native peoples of these regions brought him great acclaim, including a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society. He published on a book on his exploration, entitled Tropical South Africa (1853). Two years later, Galton offered his advice for other would-be explorers in The Art of Travel: Or, Shifts and Contrivances Available in Wild Countries (1855).

Married in 1853 to Louisa Jane Butler, Galton ended his explorations for other scientific pursuits. He became interested in weather and created the first weather map, showing different climate conditions across a geographical area. In 1863, he published a book on the subject, called Meteorgraphica, or Methods of Mapping the Weather.

Strongly influenced by Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species (1859), Galton developed his own theories on inherited traits. He studied identical twins, and worked on the first intelligence test in his exploration of the roles of "nature and nurture"—a phrase created by Galton—in human attributes. According to some sources, Galton also coined the term "eugenics," a controversial field of study about selective breeding in humans to produce preferred traits.