Journal of Heredity 2004:95(3):273-273
© 2004 The American Genetic Association
Book Review |
Francis Galton: Pioneer of Heredity and Biometry
Michael Bulmer.Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 2003. 376 pp. $45.00.
I was delighted when I was asked to review this book, as I have quoted Galton often, whenever I give a talk on twins in fact. And I have also used the picture of this great man that adorns the cover of this most interesting volume.
The book is superbly researched by another, more modern, biometrician, Michael Bulmer, who, in 1970, wrote a comprehensive book on the Biology of Twinning in Man. In that book, Bulmer quotes Galton as having written on "The history of twins, as a criterion of the relative powers of nature and nurture." This aspect, rather than his being known as the inventor of the concept of eugenics, as Bulmer refers to Galton's eminent fame, is how I have come to endear the man who started the "twin method," a methodology that studies twins and attempts to differentiate between nature and nurture; that methodology has often been used "uncritically" by Galton, so Bulmer states. Not only that, Bulmer also suggests that Galton could not possibly have created the twin method as we know it now, because he believed that all twins were genetically alike, that they had identical "stirps"; proper Mendelian genetics was still unknown then. But, "as usual, Galton was a pioneer who left his methods and his results to be perfected by others" (p. 67).
In any event, Galton's otherwise relatively obscure life is detailed with great precision in this book, the life story of a great and perhaps much undervalued man is laid before us in its temporal sequence. Bulmer takes us back to the 19th century and makes us feel as though we belong there, not knowing anything as yet about genes and chromosomes, let alone Mendel's work. Yes, most of Galton's writings on hereditary determinants were done before Mendel's discovery was appreciated and before the writings of de Vries. Moreover, his then very modern ideas came into strong conflict with "Mendelism" later. As a cousin of Charles Darwin's, Galton apparently had an extensive correspondence with Darwin and with many other luminaries of that century. It was this relationship with Charles Darwin, whose book had a great influence on Galton, that determined for him the need to support these evolutionary ideas with a statistical underpinning. Galton thus used his polymath abilities and made it possible for Darwin to become more widely accepted scientifically.
"Natura non facit saltum" was Darwin's premise, gradualism supposedly explains evolutionary change. But that was not always Galton's view. He leaned toward saltation, toward major breaks in continuity, after being impressed with Bateson's 1894 book. He then wrote on Discontinuity in Evolution, creating the notion of "race" and "type," aspects we learn in this exemplary research of Galton's life and the reasons for the evolution of his ideas. Galton would have been delighted with the "punctuated equilibrium" of Eldredge as we know it today.
But I was totally unaware that Galton had started out as a geographer and traveler in an effort to chart parts of Africa before he settled in England to contemplate how to apply mathematical studies to biological processes. Such delightful details make it a great pleasure to read this book on the life of a great scientist. Bulmer points out repeatedly that Galton was apparently not so superior a mathematician and that he never stayed with the problem long enough to really solve equations satisfactorily. Indeed, the book gives numerous examples in which Bulmer needs to correct the imperfect calculations of Galton. Nevertheless, the basic ideas, the regression analysis, and especially the concept of a "normal distribution" were seeded by Galton, and he thus lives on as the father of biometrics, however imprecise his methods may have been. We learn many other fascinating details of his life; his sterile marriage to Louisa Butler, his use of fingerprints for identification of people, the wide spectrum of his publications, and importantly, his role as president of several important British societies. His interest in the concept of "nature versus nurture" that so well characterizes much of his fame was relentlessly pursued. So we hear of his sending pea seeds to friends in England, and receiving the offspring for determining hereditary versus environmental influences. Much of this is presented in a most readable style and smacks of absolute authority.
Galton also created the term "eugenics," with the idea of gradually leading mankind to a superior class of people, and he may be maligned for that in retrospect. He advocated, for instance, the marriage of intelligent partners to enhance society. He also can be seen as the scientific authority that led to the later American and European versions of this unfortunate chapter in biology that we so much wish to forget. His suggestions were made without malicious forethought and merely with the hope of advancing mankind beyond its then present state.
After Galton's death in 1911, a professorship in his name was created at University College and filled by Karl Pearson (1911–1933); after this meticulous mathematician came R. A. Fisher (1934–1944), then Lionel Penrose (1944–1965), H. Harris (1965–1976), and Bette Robson (1976–1994), all of whom have made major contributions to biometrics. The Galton Institute lives on, proudly named after this brilliant man. This book gives good testimony to his greatness and will be enjoyed by all who have an interest in genetics and its history.
Department of Pathology UCSD Medical Center 200 W. Arbor Dr. San Diego, CA 92103
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