Guide to the Records of the Eugenics Society (as filmed by the AJCP), 17 December 1912-10 April 1961

Summary

Collection number:

M2565

Creator:

Eugenics Society of Great Britain

Extent:

25 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Access restricted. Written permission to view this material must be obtained from: General Secretary, The Galton Institute for the Study of Biology and Society, 19 Northfield Prospect, Northfields, London SW18 1PE.

Background

Content Summary:

Records 1950-1958 of Migration Council.

Correspondence and papers 1930-1932 on voluntary sterilisation.

Correspondence 1926-1961 with eugenics societies in Australia and New Zealand.

Papers 1930-1938 concerning Henry Twitchen.

Correspondence 1922-1958, including letters of Henry Twitchen and Edith How-Martyn.

Biographical / Historical:

The Eugenics Education Society was founded London in 1907 on the initiative of the social reformer Sibyl Gotto and the geneticist Francis Galton (1822-1911). It became the Eugenics Society in 1926. Galton was the first president and he was succeeded by Leonard Darwin, the son of Charles Darwin. The Society sought to increase public understanding of heredity and to improve parenthood in Britain with the aim of biological improvement of the nation. There were tensions between supporters of positive eugenics, who sought to encourage the fittest to have more children, and the supporters of negative eugenics, who wanted to prevent people with undesirable characteristics from breeding by means of voluntary or compulsory sterilisation.The Eugenics Society held meetings and conferences, drafted legislation, formed deputations to Parliament, organised lectures and training courses, and sponsored research fellowships. It assembled a library containing works on biology, heredity, family planning, birth control, family allowances and other subjects. It issued various publications and from 1909 to 1968 published a quarterly journal, the Eugenics Review.Members of the Society included Lord Horder (president), Sir Julian Huxley (president), John Maynard Keynes, Marie Stopes, H.G. Wells, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Cyril Burt, Lord Beveridge, Lord Brain, Hans Eysenck, Ronald Fisher, Karl Pearson, Havelock Ellis and Richard Titmuss.The heyday of the Eugenics Society was the 1930s. Its membership declined after World War II, as eugenic policies and practices were associated with Nazi Germany. The Society was granted charitable status in 1963 and abandoned its propaganda work. It changed its name to the Galton Institute in 1989. Its aim in more recent times has been to foster understanding of the biological and social aspects of human heredity.Secretaries of the Eugenics Society, 1907-68Sibyl Gotto 1907-20Edgar Schuster 1916-17Lady Chambers 1920-29Ronald Fisher 1920-30Ursula Grant Duff 1927-33Ward Cutler 1927-34Carlos Blacker 1952-61J.M. Tanner 1961-63A.S. Parkes 1963-68

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2303242] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

Contemporary Medical Archives Centre, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, Euston Road, London.

Collection reference SA/EUG. For further information see Eugenics at the Wellcome Institure for the History of Medicine (http://catalogue.wellcomelibrary.org/record=b1977517).

Conditions Governing Access:

Permission required for Access. This material may not be viewed without permission of the society. Contact Ask a Librarian for more information (https://www.nla.gov.au/askalibrarian).

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Permission to publish these papers or any part thereof must be sought from the Contemporary Medical Archives Centre, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, Euston Road, London.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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