Eugenics at the Royal Society: 1860-1950

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This research project will provide the first detailed examination of the relationship betweenthe Royal Society and eugenics between 1860-1950.The project connects with ongoing efforts to critically revaluate the history of eugenics, andinvolves serious engagement and critical investigation of underutilised and unexploredarchives at the Royal Society. The project will contribute to a wider process of digitisation,which is itself part of a movement to make the Royal Society and its archives moreaccessibleThere is a growing atmosphere in which institutions are confronting their historical links,involvement, and support of eugenics. This confrontation is not a witch-hunt, but rather anevidence based approach that seeks to establish: who was awarded grants? What werethese grants spent on? Where were these individuals? What did they publish? Did eugenicideas, values, or concepts transcend to any other areas of their work? What degree ofsupport and opposition did these individuals face at personal and institutional levels?This project will document this history for the first time and espouse a more completeunderstanding of the interdependence of race, class, and empire in the construction ofeugenic theory and its wider movement. Population studies, anthropological studies,ethnological studies, statistical, economic, and genetic advancements will be deconstructedand presented to display how they share eugenic ideals and how they are concerned andintertwined with class and race in Britain.The Royal Society being historically the most prestigious, esteemed, and respectablescientific institution in Britain, if not the world, makes it the perfect focus for this study. Aninstitution of such high standing wanting to confront their own past in such a way is a massive step in the right direction and can only serve as a good example to similarinstitutions with such pasts. The Royal Society is an independent Fellowship by RoyalCharter, and therefore must operate in the public interest. Taking ownership andconfronting the Royal Society's historical relationship with eugenics can help improve thisaspect of the Charter by being more open and accessible to groups historically targeted andexcluded by eugenics.The project will make use of the extensive archives of the Royal Society pertaining toeugenics, the bulk of which remain underutilised and unexplored. In particular archivalmaterial relating to:-Government grants.-Referee reports.-Articles submitted and published in the Philosophical Transactions of the RoyalSociety.-Records of the nomination/election of Fellows of the Royal Society.-The internal and external correspondence between eugenicists and theircounterparts held within the archives.From this archival research a good understanding of the relationship between eugenics andthe Royal Society will be established. This will help inform what degree of support,financially and otherwise, there was for eugenics at the Royal Society. Additionallyhighlighting what wider contributions were made by eugenicists to multiple fields anddisciplines, as well as how influential eugenics was on the Royal Society and what legacy ofeugenics remains at the Royal Society (ideologically and physically).This project will also deploy the tools of digital humanities to analyse the researchquantitatively in order to engage with other disciplines in an attempt to highlight thepermeability of eugenics into supposed empirical, objective research. This process will helpstrengthen the overall evidence as it will incorporate a broader perspective and help speak to a wider audience in a language familiar to them. Digital humanities will also be used tomap out networks of key individuals, pieces of work, institutions, and their connections.