The historical narrative of eugenics often focuses on those eugenic societies and movements that ‘succeeded’ in part or in full in achieving a eugenic society. Less studied are those societies that failed, whether due to social backlash or internal incoherence. The British Eugenic Educational Society as the foundational point of eugenics, has therefore been overlooked as a result of it’s perceived lack of contribution to eugenic thought and its failure to pass eugenic legislation. Founded by Francis Galton, the originator of the philosophy of eugenics, the British Eugenic Educational Society should have been successful given it’s reputation and the numerous scientific, political and literary luminaries attached to it. By examining the causes of its failure historians may be better able to understand why eugenics never ‘succeeded’ in the British Isles.
","abstract_html":"<p>The historical narrative of eugenics often focuses on those eugenic societies and movements that ‘succeeded’ in part or in full in achieving a eugenic society. Less studied are those societies that failed, whether due to social backlash or internal incoherence. The British Eugenic Educational Society as the foundational point of eugenics, has therefore been overlooked as a result of it’s perceived lack of contribution to eugenic thought and its failure to pass eugenic legislation. Founded by Francis Galton, the originator of the philosophy of eugenics, the British Eugenic Educational Society should have been successful given it’s reputation and the numerous scientific, political and literary luminaries attached to it. By examining the causes of its failure historians may be better able to understand why eugenics never ‘succeeded’ in the British Isles.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gallagher, Angela"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA","degree_level":"One-year Embargo","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["John C. Mitcham","Andrew T. Simpson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-05-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:10:58Z","subjects":["Eugenics","British Eugenic Society","Francis Galton","Karl Pearson","Leonard Darwin","Britain","Bioethics and Medical Ethics","European History","History of Science, Technology, and Medicine","Medical Humanities","Social History"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1883","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["John C. Mitcham","Andrew T. Simpson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gallagher, Angela"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-05-08T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["One-year Embargo"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Eugenics","British Eugenic Society","Francis Galton","Karl Pearson","Leonard Darwin","Britain","Bioethics and Medical Ethics","European History","History of Science, Technology, and Medicine","Medical Humanities","Social History"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1883"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The historical narrative of eugenics often focuses on those eugenic societies and movements that ‘succeeded’ in part or in full in achieving a eugenic society. Less studied are those societies that failed, whether due to social backlash or internal incoherence. The British Eugenic Educational Society as the foundational point of eugenics, has therefore been overlooked as a result of it’s perceived lack of contribution to eugenic thought and its failure to pass eugenic legislation. Founded by Francis Galton, the originator of the philosophy of eugenics, the British Eugenic Educational Society should have been successful given it’s reputation and the numerous scientific, political and literary luminaries attached to it. By examining the causes of its failure historians may be better able to understand why eugenics never ‘succeeded’ in the British Isles.
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