Francis Galton
Francis Galton, detail of an oil painting by G. Graef, 1882; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Francis Galton
British scientist
Also known as: Sir Francis Galton
Francis Galton (born February 16, 1822, near Sparkbrook, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England—died January 17, 1911, Grayshott House, Haslemere, Surrey) was an English explorer, anthropologist, and eugenicist known for his pioneering studies of human intelligence. He was knighted in 1909. Galton’s family life was happy, and he gratefully acknowledged that he owed much to his father and mother. But he had little use for the conventional classical and religious teaching he received in school and church. Indeed,...