Francis Galton

Sir Francis Galton (February 16, 1822 – January 17, 1911) British anthropologist, explorer, inventor, statistician, a pioneer in eugenics, investigator of the human mind, and the founder of the science of measuring mental faculties: psychometrics. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1909.

Histerionics, eugenics, statistics, correlation

His inquiries into the mind involved detailed recording of subjects' own explanations for whether and how their minds dealt with things such as mental imagery. Galton's 1869 work, Hereditary Genius, popularised historiometry and also formed the beginning of his thoughts on eugenics and heredity. (Galton invented the term eugenics). In statistics, Galton was the first to describe and explain the common phenomenon of regression toward the mean in the 1870s and 1880s. After examining forearm and height measurements, Galton introduced the concept of correlation in 1888. His statistical study of the probability of extinction of surnames led to the concept of Galton-Watson stochastic processes.

Related Topics:
Mental imagery - Hereditary Genius - Historiometry - Eugenics - Heredity - Statistics - Regression toward the mean - 1870s - 1880s - Correlation - 1888 - Galton-Watson stochastic processes

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Galton invented the Quincunx, also known as the bean machine as a tool for demonstrating the law of error and the normal distribution. He also invented the questionnaire, regression analysis, composite photography (layering images upon one another to create what he considered a 'mean' image), the correlation, and twin studies. His statistical heir Karl Pearson, first holder of the Galton Chair of Eugenics at University College London, wrote a three-volume biography of Galton after his death.

Related Topics:
Quincunx - Law of error - Normal distribution - Questionnaire - Regression analysis - Photography - Correlation - Twin - Karl Pearson - University College London

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