Francis Galton (Radio Edit)

Greg Jenner is joined in Victorian England by historian and curator Subhadra Das and comedian Desiree Burch to learn all about the life of scientist and eugenics pioneer Francis Galton. He was many things: a Victorian gentleman scientist, an inventor of whacky devices, a pioneer of fingerprinting technology, the less famous cousin of superstar naturalist Charles Darwin, and an important figure in the development of statistics. But more importantly – and more troublingly – Francis Galton originated the now discredited science of eugenics. His theories about how to apply principles of good breeding to humans, and his advocacy of ways to improve Britain’s so-called ‘racial health’, led directly and indirectly to many horrors in the decades after his death, from the forced sterilisation of certain groups to the Holocaust.

This episode traces his life from child prodigy to prolific scientist, exploring his obsession with understanding the world through measurement and statistics, and how this mindset eventually led him to pioneer eugenic theories. Along the way it takes in his African travels, unwise self-experimentation during his medical degree, and his troubling views on women.

This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Naomi Weaver
Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett
Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars