Francis Galton: biography of this prolific researcher.

In addition to being Charles Darwin's cousin, Galton made numerous contributions to science.

If we talk about extremely relevant figures for the development of psychology, a large number of possible names from multiple disciplines are likely to arise, including Wilhelm Wundt, Brentano, Freud, William James or Beck. Generally, one usually thinks of figures famous for their elaboration of theoretical content about the mind or different aspects of the psyche.

Equally important, however, are those who fostered the development of methods and elements, or who directly initiated the possibility of operationalizing and being able to measure something as abstract as mental capacities. One of the best known and most important in this sense was Francis Galton. Francis Galton, of whom we will see a biography below..

Brief biography of Francis Galton

Francis Galton was born in the English city of Birmingham, on February 16, 1822, as the seventh and youngest son of the banker Samuel Tertius Galton and Frances Anne Violetta Darwin (aunt of Charles Darwin, so that Francis Galton and this one were cousins).

From a wealthy and socially recognized family on both sides (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. Already from childhood he showed himself to be intellectually precocious, being able to read from the age of two.He was able to read from the age of two in English and had a relatively advanced knowledge of mathematics at the age of five. The latter would become a subject of great interest to the young Galton.

The formative years

His education during the first years of his life was spent in schools in Birmingham until 1836, when he entered King Edward's School. However, he left the school at the age of sixteen. Shortly thereafter he would go on to study medicine (largely at the insistence of his parents) at the Birmingham General Hospital, and then study mathematics at King's College, University of London.

Likewise, and after traveling to different European cities and capitals, in 1840 he resumed his medical studies at Trinity College, Cambridge University. Unfortunately, in 1844 Galton's father passed away, an event that would be a great sorrow for him. Ehe same year he finished his medical studies, graduating in 1844..

Travels and evolution as a researcher

Having finished his medical studies and not having to depend on his health profession due to the inheritance he had received, Galton decided to pursue a career as a researcher. several exploration trips in Africa, including Egypt and Sudan, joining the Royal Geographical Society.including Egypt and Sudan, joining the Royal Geographical Society.

Also during these trips he would be documenting to carry out books based on his experiences that would be published from 1850 and would be considered best sellers (making contributions and discoveries in the process). He would also be trained in geography and meteorology, publishing later (in 1863) the pioneering book in which he would coin the term anticyclone and that in fact would give beginning to scientific meteorology, Metereographica.

In 1853 he would meet and later marry Louisa Jane Butler, a relationship that would last throughout his life.a relationship that would last a lifetime. However, the couple did not manage to have children, something that caused him a great vital crisis that the author attributed to a 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 eventually trigger Galton's desire to study biology.

Scientific contributions

One of Galton's best-known contributions to the world of biology, derived both from his previous experiences and from reading his cousin's book, was his attempt to study how natural selection could improve the evolution of the human species. to study how natural selection could improve mankind..

He would begin to think that intelligence and cognitive abilities, as well as possible alterations and diseases, could be 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 thus give rise to the beginnings of eugenics, considering how, as with animals, human beings could crossbreed to promote what were considered to be the best characteristics. The term eugenics itself was coined by him in 1883 in his publicationin his publication Human Faculty.

In 1884 he created the first anthropometric laboratory in which the first physical and mental measurements were carried out (technically it was also the first psychometric laboratory).

Studies of heritability and individual differences

He would also explore the differences between the inherited and the 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 one so widely used today Pearson's correlation coefficient.

He would also be one of the first to investigate intelligence and the measurement of its heritability. Studying the distribution of intelligence and other traits in the population, he would come to the conclusion that these traits tend to have a normal distribution in the population, with most having similar abilities close to the mean 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 with Pearson and Weldon the journal Biometrika. In 1904 he presented his theories on eugenics at the Sociological Society, being his speech later published in the American Journal of Sociology and founding the Galton Laboratory. Three years later, the Eugenics Education Society was founded.

Also He also studied the heritability of the traits considered most relevant by means of research with twinsHe also studied the heritability of the traits considered most relevant through research with twins, with a view to assessing whether intelligence and other psychic traits were inherited or were the product of education (studying, for example, whether the fact that the more powerful ones stood out was due to the possibility of receiving a formal education or to the transmission of these abilities).

In this sense, he would use studies with monozygotic twins, reaching the conclusion that the innate seems to have a greater effect on intelligence than the learned.

Death and legacy

Francis Galton's contributions are enormous in the field of science, even receiving the title of Sir in 1909. However, with the passage of time he would eventually contract tuberculosis, a disease that would end his life on January 17, 1911, in Surrey.

The legacy of this controversial and prolific author is extensive.. Being the father of psychometry, 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 the inheritance of psychic capacities has allowed for the development of mechanisms to operationalize and measure mental operations.he study of the inheritance of psychic capacities and of individual differences are partly possible thanks to his contributions.

Unfortunately, not all his studies have been employed in a positive way, his original purpose being misrepresented in a self-serving manner: some studies on eugenics have unfortunately been used in a negative way for years to defend racist ideologies such as those of the Nazis.

Bibliographical references:

• Forrest, D.W. (1974). Francis Galton: The Life and Work of a Victorian Genius. Miami: Taplinger.
• Wright Gilham, N. (2002). A Life of Sir Francis Galton: From African Exploration to the Birth of Eugenics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.