Overview

Francis Galton (1822-1910) first coined the term eugenics in 1883. It stems from the Greek word eugenes, meaning good in birth. Though Galton defined the term eugenics rather broadly, he essentially intended the term to mean the science of improving human stock. In other words, he intended to the give groups of people, or races, he viewed as most suitable a chance to prevail over those he viewed as less suitable. Thus eugenics was to become a study dedicated to improving human beings through selective breeding, that is by encouraging the best or most fit members of society to breed more while inhibiting or preventing those that were deemed undesirable or less suitable from...