The Galton Institute was renamed as the Adelphi Genetics Forum in 2021 and evolved from the Eugenics Education Society (EES), founded by social reformer Sibyl Gotto in 1907.

Francis Galton defines eugenics and gives birth to a movement. Francis Galton (pictured), Charles Darwin’s cousin, derived the term “eugenics” from the Greek word eugenes, meaning “good in birth” or “good in stock.”. Galton first used the term in an 1883 book, “Inquiries into Human Fertility and Its Development.”.

“As a rising star in American biology, Charles Davenport persuaded the newly founded Carnegie Institution to underwrite a genetic institute for him at Cold Spring Harbor in 1904. The Station for Experimental Evolution (after 1918, Department of Genetics) became his home until his retirement three decades later.

In addition, he established the Eugenics Record Office and the Eugenics Research Association, which became his empire on the Long Island shore. At the center of the American eugenics movement, both the office and the association exerted enormous influence over the content of human biology and science and their dissemination to the American public up to the 1930s.”¹⁾

The Artemis Trust is wholly owned by the Galton Institute. It was established in 2016 and evolved from the Birth Control Trust, founded in 1977, with extremely narrow objectives. The wider ranging objectives of the Artemis Trust as approved by the Charity Commission are: “To preserve and protect the physical and mental health of people, particularly but not only those from poorer communities, in particular by: “assisting in the provision of fertility control and other measures to improve reproductive and sexual health; and “advancing education in all aspects of reproductive and sexual health.” ²⁾

Eugenics is an immoral and pseudoscientific theory that claims it is possible to perfect people and groups through genetics and the scientific laws of inheritance. Eugenicists used an incorrect and prejudiced understanding of the work of Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel to support the idea of “racial improvement.”

In their quest for a perfect society, eugenicists labelled many people as “unfit,” including ethnic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, the urban poor and LGBTQ individuals. Discussions of eugenics began in the late 19th century in England, then spread to other countries, including the United States. Most industrialized countries had organizations devoted to promoting eugenics by the end of World War I.

To better understand and protect against current and future discriminatory trends that misuse genetics and, through its association, genomics, this timeline highlights key moments in the development of eugenics, with a focus on the American eugenics movement.

Galton defines eugenics and gives birth to a movement. Francis Galton (pictured), Charles Darwin’s cousin, derived the term “eugenics” from the Greek word eugenes, meaning “good in birth” or “good in stock.”. Galton first used the term in an 1883 book, “Inquiries into Human Fertility and Its Development.”³⁾

The Galton Institute Publications - Wellcome Trust Eugenics Archive

Date: 1991-present Reference: SA/EUG/Q Part of: Eugenics Society Archives and manuscripts

Collection contents

• Eugenics SocietySA/EUG
• Annual Reports, etcSA/EUG/A
• Early filesSA/EUG/B
• 'People'SA/EUG/C
• 'General'SA/EUG/D
• Branches and other SocietiesSA/EUG/E
• Family HistoriesSA/EUG/F
• Propaganda and PublicitySA/EUG/G
• BequestsSA/EUG/H
• Sir Bernard Mallett PapersSA/EUG/I
• MiscellaneaSA/EUG/J
• Dr Marie Stopes and the Marie Stopes Memorial FundSA/EUG/K
• Minute Books and Meeting papersSA/EUG/L
• Financial recordsSA/EUG/M
• Press-cuttingsSA/EUG/N
• Portraits of IndividualsSA/EUG/O
• Dr G C BertramSA/EUG/P
• The Galton Institute PublicationsSA/EUG/Q

The Galton Institute Newsletter with indexSA/EUG/Q.1 Eugenics Society/Galton Institute: Occasional Papers, Second Series, nos. 1-4SA/EUG/Q.2 Galton Institute Occasional Papers: Third SeriesSA/EUG/Q.3

Wellcome Trust Galton Eugenics Archive ⁴⁾

• Accessed October 2009: [2]
• President Professor Sir Walter Bodmer
• Vice Presidents Professor Timothy Cox, Professor David Galton
• Treasurer Professor John Beardmore
• Secretary Patrick James
• Council
• Melissa Bateson
• Robert D. Cohen
• Tom Dickins
• Dian Donnai
• Lesley Hall
• Graham A. Hitman
• Paul Hurd
• Marcus Pembrey
• Rebecca Sear
• General Secretary Betty Nixon
• Newsletter Editor Professor Robert D. Cohen ⁵⁾