Francis Galton: Biography Of This Prolific Researcher
If we talk about extremely relevant figures for the development of psychology, it is likely that a large number of possible names will arise from multiple disciplines, including Wilhelm Wundt, Brentano, Freud, William James or Beck. Generally one tends to think of famous figures for the elaboration of theoretical content about the mind or different aspects of the psyche.
However, equally important are those that fostered the development of methods and elements, or that directly initiated, the possibility of operationalizing and being able to measure something as abstract as mental abilities. One of the best known and most important in this sense was Francis Galton, of whom we will see a biography below
Francis Galton was born in the English city of Birmingham, on February 16, 1822, as the seventh and youngest of the children of the banker Samuel Tertius Galton and Frances Anne Violetta Darwin (aunt of Charles Darwin, making Francis Galton and him cousins).
From a wealthy family and socially recognized by both branches (his grandfather was also a renowned physicist, Erasmus Darwin), the young Galton would grow up in an intellectual environment capable of providing him with a quality formal education. Since childhood he expressed being intellectually precocious, being able to read from the age of two in English and having relatively advanced knowledge in mathematics at the age of five. The latter would become a matter of great interest to the young Galton.
The formative years
His education during the first years of his life took place in Birmingham schools until 1836, when he began to study at King Edward’s School. However, he would leave said school at sixteen. Shortly afterward he would begin studying medicine (largely at the insistence of his parents) at Birmingham General Hospital, and then study mathematics at King’s College, University of London.
Likewise, and after traveling through different European cities and capitals, in 1840 he resumed his medical studies at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. Unfortunately, in 1844 Galton’s father died, an event that would cause him great pain. ANDThat same year he would finish his medical studies, graduating
Travels and evolution as a researcher
Having finished his medical degree and not having to depend on his health profession due to the inheritance he received, Galton decided to carry out various exploration trips through Africa including Egypt and Sudan, joining the Royal Geographical Society.
Likewise, during these trips he would document himself to produce books based on his experiences that would be published from 1850 onwards and that would be considered best sellers (making contributions and discoveries in the process). He would also train in geography and meteorology, later publishing (in 1863) the pioneering book in which he would coin the term anticyclone and which would in fact begin scientific meteorology, Meteoreographica.
In 1853 he would meet and later marry Louisa Jane Butler, a relationship that would last a lifetime. However, the couple would not be able to have children, something that caused a great life crisis that the author attributed to possible sterility. This last event, together with the existence of conflicts with the Royal Geographical Society and the appearance of the book by his cousin Charles Darwin, the well-known The origin of specieswould end up triggering Galton’s desire to study biology.
Scientific contributions
One of Galton’s best-known contributions to the world of biology and derived both from previous experiences and from reading his cousin’s book, was the attempt to study how natural selection could improve humanity
He would begin to think that intelligence and cognitive abilities, as well as possible alterations and diseases, could be attributed to elements of heredity, as well as the possibility of seeking an application of the principles of natural selection to favor the evolution of the species.
It would therefore give rise to the beginnings of eugenics, considering how, as with animals, human beings could interbreed to promote what were considered the best characteristics. The term eugenics itself was coined in 1883 in his publication Human Faculty.
In 1884 he would create the first anthropometric laboratory in which the first physical and mental measurements would be carried out (technically also being the first psychometric laboratory).
Studies of heritability and individual differences
He would also explore the differences between what was inherited and what was learned, linking them in such a way that he considered that the union of both was linked to both physical and psychic faculties.
Galton was also the first to quantify the idea of standard variations, the regression line, and the normal distribution. He would even be a pioneer in developing the concept of correlation, although it would be his disciple Pearson who would end up generating the concept so used today. Pearson correlation coefficient
Likewise, he would be one of the first to investigate intelligence and measure its heritability. Studying the distribution of intelligence and other traits in the population, he would come to the conclusion that these tend to have a normal distribution in the population, with the majority having abilities similar and close to the average and a few having extreme values. He is also the father of biostatistics, as well as one of the precursors of differential psychology.
In 1901 he founded the magazine Biometrika with Pearson and Weldon In 1904 he expounded his theories on eugenics at the Sociological Society, his speech later being published in the American Journal of Sociology and founding the Galton Laboratory. Three years later he founded the Eugenics Education Society.
Also studied the heritability of the traits considered most relevant through research with twins in order to assess whether intelligence and other psychic traits were inherited or were a product of education (studying, for example, whether the fact that the most powerful stood out was rather due to the possibility of receiving a formal education or due to the transmission of these abilities.
In this sense, I would use studies with monozygotic twins, reaching the conclusion that innate seems to have a greater effect on intelligence than learned.
Death and legacy
Francis Galton’s contributions are enormous in the field of science, even receiving the title of Sir for them in 1909. However, as time went by he would end up contracting tuberculosis, a disease that would end his life on December 17. January 1911, in Surrey.
The legacy of this controversial and prolific author is extensive Being the father of psychometrics, his studies have allowed over time the development of mechanisms to operationalize and measure mental operations, something that in turn is linked to the development of psychology and psychiatry.
Also the study of lThe inheritance of psychic abilities and individual differences are made possible in part by your contributions.
Unfortunately, not all of his studies have been used in a positive way, their original purpose being distorted in an interested way: some studies on eugenics have unfortunately been used in a negative way for years to defend racist ideologies such as those of the Nazis.
