Heredity in Relation to Eugenics

work by Davenport

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July 16, 2026

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Charles Benedict Davenport's Heredity in Relation to Eugenics (1911) compiled evidence on human trait inheritance to argue for improving the human race through selective breeding. Davenport, an American zoologist, pioneered statistical methods in biological research and was an early proponent of Mendelian heredity.1

Eugenics, coined by Francis Galton, is the practice of controlling reproduction to improve the genetic composition of a population. Heredity refers to the natural process of passing traits from parents to children. Davenport's work, while influential in its time, is now viewed critically due to its association with racist ideologies and its later use to support discriminatory practices.2341

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Charles Benedict Davenport
In Heredity in Relation to Eugenics (1911), he compiled evidence concerning the inheritance of human traits, on the basis of which he argued that the application of genetic principles would improve the human race.
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In Heredity in Relation to Eugenics (1911), he compiled evidence concerning the inheritance of human traits, on the basis of which he argued that the application of genetic principles would improve the human race.
Read More