1822-1911

British gentleman scientist and cousin of Charles Darwin (1809-1882) who studied meteorology and anthropology, but is best known for founding the eugenics movement. Eugenics, a term coined by Galton, refers to the attempt to improve human heredity by rationally influencing or controlling human reproduction. His ideas were largely influenced by Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) and the concept of natural selection. Galton advanced his eugenic views, which he and many proponents considered applied science, in Hereditary Genius (1869) and other works.