science · 17 January 1911 · 113 years ago
death
Died 17 Jan 1911 at age 88 (born 16 Feb 1822).
English anthropologist, eugenicist and statistician who was an investigator of intellectual ability and the founder of eugenics. He explored in south-western Africa. In meteorology, he was first to recognise and name the anticyclone. He interpreted the theory of evolution of (his cousin) Charles Darwin to imply inheritance of talent could be manipulated. Galton had a long-term interest in eugenics - a word he coined for scientifically selected parenthood to enable inheritance of beneficial characteristics. He coined the phrase “nature versus nurture.” Galton experimentally verified the uniqueness of fingerprints, and suggested the first classification based on grouping the patterns into arches, loops, and whorls. On 1 Apr 1875, he published the first newspaper weather map, in The Times.
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