ABSTRACT
Galton, the British polymath and scientist, studied medicine and mathematics. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1856 and was General Secretary to the British Association from 1863–67. Among his many credits were the pioneering of weather forecasting and invention of fingerprinting. He developed an interest in heredity, pioneering the systematic collection of data concerning human attributes and abilities. His cousin, Charles Darwin, was a major influence upon his thinking. Galton introduced statistical correlation and regression methods into the scientific study of humans, calling it the biometric approach. This work was taken further by his student, Karl Pearson. Galton’s studies led him to the conclusion that environment had little impact upon a person’s physical and educational attributes. In Hereditary Genius (1869), Inquiries into Human Faculty (1883) and Natural Inheritance (1889) Galton developed ideas about the limits of education for people from certain family backgrounds. His world-renowned stature as a scientist gave his ideas enormous credence during his times. He also expounded his theories of eugenics as a means of racial and social improvement. His ideas were used to support differential schooling for different ‘types’ of child. To further the eugenicist cause he established a laboratory and research fellowship at University College, London, along with a specialist journal. Galton helped to establish local eugenics associations all over Britain. He was the dominant influence upon a succeeding generation of British and American educational psychologists, such as Cyril Burt and B. F. Skinner, who were interested in investigating the capacities of children.
